Feature: The best French watch brands
Considering it’s a direct neighbour to the mighty watchmaking giant that is Switzerland, it makes sense that France has a burgeoning watch industry of its own. In fact, the nation’s watchmaking hotspot, Morteau is located along the Swiss border. In recent years, certain French watchmakers have pushed to create their movements in-house, setting a new standard for the nation’s industry in what’s an exciting time for French horology. With that said, let’s explore some of its best watch brands.
Baltic
Baltic is a French brand that has been on a lot of watch enthusiasts’ lips in recent years and there are plenty of reasons why. One is that its prices are incredibly fair for what it has to offer, making it an accessible brand to newbie collectors and those after a superbly designed, wallet-friendly timepiece. It also boasts a diverse collection including chronographs, dive watches and dressier models like the brand’s standout MR line. We love the sub-£500 Classic version with its applied Breguet numerals and stunning textured dial with a small seconds subdial between 7 and 8 o’clock. The micro-rotor movement that powers it is Chinese, and it’s technically modified and decorated to look like something far more high-end. Baltic uses Japanese and a variety of Swiss movements for most of its other watches.
Yema
Yema has created watches that have accompanied everyone from divers to military personnel to astronauts. In fact, the first Frenchman in space, Jean-Loup Chrétien, wore a Yema Spationaute I on his wrist back in 1982. This kickstarted a relationship with the French space agency CNES where Yema produced watches for successive missions. Interestingly, Yema has ties with some of the biggest names in watchmaking, including Richard Mille who joined the company in 1982 until 1986, then, in late ‘86, the almighty Seiko became Yema’s majority owner. Today, it’s owned by Ambre France, a French family-owned watchmaking group based in Morteau. This era of Yema’s history helped it focus on going in-house—its first calibre, the MBP1000 was unveiled in 2011. The models most synonymous with Yema are those from its Superman divers’ range. Unveiled in 1963, this understated dive watch continues to boast a loyal following today.
Pequignet
Established in 1973, Pequignet survived the turmoil of the quartz crisis as one of the truly independent French Manufactures de Haute Horlogerie. Its independence has allowed Pequignet to express its creative freedom through craftmanship and design. In 2010 it opened the Manufacture Pequignet where it designs and manufactures its movements in-house¬, meaning it doesn’t have to rely on calibres from overseas to power its watches. Its first movement, the Calibre Royal arrived the following year. It was the first French-made movement, making it a milestone for the nation’s watchmaking industry, as much as for the brand itself. In 2024 Pequignet unveiled its first flying tourbillon watch, the Royale Tourbillon—a timepiece that showcases what independent watchmakers and French watches in general can offer.
Trilobe
Trilobe was founded in 2018, and it’s safe to say it has a unique approach to watchmaking. So much so, you may need a tutorial on how to tell the time with some of its models, such as the remarkable Une Folle Journée—which translates to “a crazy day” in English. With its dial consisting of three “floating” circular rings, Trilobe’s watchmakers have successfully combined watchmaking traditions with contemporary design. The largest ring displays the hours, the median ring reads the minutes and the smallest one is for seconds. The watch’s protruding sapphire crystal gives it a fun, 3D bubble effect—it’s pretty cool, although trying to fit it under your shirt sleeve could prove a little tricky.
B.R.M Chronographes
There are multiple watch brands that have been inspired by motorsport, such as TAG Heuer and its chronographs from the Monaco to the Carrera. France’s B.R.M Chronographes, however, has the world of motorsport in its DNA. The brainchild of petrolhead, Bernard Richards, and Jean-Paul Crabbe, B.R.M Chronographes was created in 2004 with the sole aim of combining these two worlds. Its DDF6 and DDF12 models feature cases inspired by race cars’ disc brakes, for example. Not only that, but B.R.M has several technical feats under its belt, including the lightest three-hand watch—the V6 Triplette—and the first watch with a floating movement mounted on three carbon triangles—the R50. B.R.M has found a distinctive design for itself thanks to brand hallmarks like the laser-cut hour and minute hands.
