Gregory Kissling, CEO of Breguet: “The Brand is at a Real Turning Point”

Upon his arrival in October 2024, Gregory Kissling, CEO of Breguet, succeeded in setting a new pace for the brand, which many had considered a sleeping beauty. A legendary house responsible for technologies that still shape modern watchmaking today, it is being reborn under the leadership of this native of Neuchâtel, a microtechnology engineer who trained in Le Locle. He is restoring the visibility, coherence, and creative energy that Breguet had been lacking for several years.

Specializing in materials, robotics, and watchmaking, Gregory Kissling began his career at Cartier in the late 1990s, at the heart of the movement construction department, alongside Eric Klein (2021 Gaïa Prize), whom he still considers his mentor today. The early 2000s, a pivotal period in the development of mechanical movements, offered him the opportunity to innovate in the design of less traditional haute horlogerie. However, his need to shape innovation through the product led him to join another watch brand. “I’m not interested in innovation for innovation’s sake. It has to bring real benefits to the product and the consumer,” he says.

He chose Omega at a time when the company was undergoing a major transformation, from the development of the Co-Axial escapement to the search for new materials. He spent more than twenty years there. During those two decades, he also led cross-functional, multi-brand, and multi-company task forces within the Swatch Group. He worked on researching new alloys for Omega, but by 2021, he would also be the man who shaped the famous collaborations between Swatch and Omega, and later Blancpain. When asked just days before the launch about the new collaboration between Swatch and Audemars Piguet, he remained tight-lipped, bound by confidentiality. Here is our interview.

What made you decide to leave Omega for Breguet after twenty years?

It happened unexpectedly, in the middle of 2024. I was completely satisfied with my position at Omega. When you’re passionate about what you do, time flies, and in this case, leading product development at Omega was like a fresh start every year. It really kept me motivated. But the opportunity was too good to pass up. I gave myself a few days to think it over, and then I picked up a pen—the old-fashioned way—to write a letter to the group expressing all the admiration and motivation I felt for joining the brand. This offer came at a good time in my life. Of course, the stakes are high, and leading a brand isn’t something you can learn overnight, but I’m well supported, and I stay in touch with Raynald Aeschlimann, Nick, and Marc Hayek. My summer of 2024 was very intense, between the Paris Olympics with Omega and my immersion in Breguet’s history before I took office on October 1. I was incredibly fortunate to have access to a vast amount of the brand’s archives. The transition with my predecessor took place over the course of a month and went very smoothly. By early October, I had already finalized and secured approval for the strategy for Breguet’s 250th anniversary.

Had the product strategy for this major celebration already been developed by your predecessor?

I had a very clear vision of the product, communication, and distribution strategy I wanted to implement for Breguet, having had the opportunity to reflect on the brand well before my arrival. This allowed me to quickly set a direction for my teams and rally them around this project. Everything fell into place leading up to the celebrations that began in April 2025, which I had envisioned not as a single event, but rather as an extensive global tour. This allowed us to develop a collection of products designed for the 250th anniversary and to stagger our communications about our history and the brand’s inventions over the course of several months. Breguet has such a rich heritage that it’s impossible to tell the whole story in one go. Each watch allowed us to share different aspects of our heritage with audiences around the world.

How enthusiastic was the response?

The response to the Classique Souscription 2025—a refined model inspired by the brand’s historic timepiece—was fantastic. I felt an immediate connection to it. It evokes the architecture of the movements crafted by Abraham-Louis Breguet. It embodies Breguet’s DNA on both the dial and the case back. The GPHG’s awarding of the Aiguille d’Or to this model last November was a fitting culmination of the celebrations. This creation and the other collections designed for the 250th anniversary have bolstered the brand’s reputation and visibility, which it needed. Breguet is experiencing a turning point and a renewed appeal.

How did collectors react?

They were won over. Their opinion matters a great deal. We reach out to them to show them how the brand has evolved. Collectors loved the Expérimentale 1 (which features the very first high-frequency magnetic escapement tourbillon at 10 Hz, ed.) This watch generated a lot of buzz, received significant media coverage, and won over new customers. It showed us that we had the freedom to take the brand’s codes and rework them. In fact, a major transformation process began a year and a half ago to restore the brand’s desirability.

Will you draw inspiration from Omega’s “Speedy Tuesday” events, which bring enthusiasts together?

Yes, I think so. Launching these initiatives will be a way to better engage collectors. I haven’t met them all yet, but I make a point of seeing them every time I visit a market. I felt a real affinity for the brand. We all have a connection to Breguet—from its history and its impact on watchmaking, right down to the terminology used: the Breguet balance spring, Breguet numerals…

Isn’t the greater challenge to capture the interest of the younger generation, who are unaware of this phenomenal legacy?

We already began this shift last year. In our boutiques, we launched an exhibition called « Les Tiroirs du temps » (The Drawers of Time) to help people learn more about Breguet. On social media and at the events we organize, we showcase our expertise. As we launched our innovations in 2025, it was important to send a strong message for the future. Our quest for precision—and the Breguet hallmark is a key element that forms part of the backbone of this pursuit of excellence—defines who we are and what we do.

Why is this extreme precision important today?

It underscores our expertise. The hallmark symbolizes 250 years of watchmaking excellence, but above all, it demonstrates this excellence through three pillars: aesthetic harmony; the watch’s performance, whether it is a so-called scientific watch (with an accuracy of plus or minus one second per day), an everyday watch (with an accuracy of plus or minus two seconds per day), or an evening watch (between minus two and plus six seconds per day), which outperforms the COSC.

We sense your desire to reclaim ground that has been taken by your competitors…

Yes, indeed. When it comes to striking mechanisms, for example, many collectors and industry professionals are unaware that Breguet invented the gong spring. Reliability is an area in which the brand will be heavily invested, thanks to the Breguet Seal. It is a relentless pursuit of precision. Breguet gold, which we launched with the Souscription watch in April 2025, is another example of innovation. It is a gold alloy containing palladium, offering significantly superior physical and chemical properties in terms of hardness and stability. Even back then, Abraham-Louis Breguet understood the importance of patenting his technical advances: the constant-force escapement and the tourbillon are his patents, and true revolutions. His experimental pieces were the ultimate symbols of his inventions. We drew inspiration from them to create today’s Experimental collection.

What do you do with the older watches from previous collections that are stored in the store vaults?

The anniversary collection maintains a very strong connection to our historical collections. The rarity associated with the current collection has helped bring attention to the previous watches, which are not so different from the new ones. The idea was to create a flagship anniversary collection that would allow us to take a fresh look at our classic collections.

What is the distribution strategy?

A retail-focused strategy, with eight stores opening in 2025 and nine in 2026, some as franchises and others as company-owned locations. We closed 44 stores in 2025 out of approximately 300 multi-brand stores. We need to improve the quality of the customer experience and customer service.

Are you being held back by your history and strong presence in China?

We have fourteen stores in China. We’re experiencing a decline, like everyone else, but we want to offset that with other markets, including the United States, where we have only two stores. But Greater China, Japan, and Korea are doing well. We’re working on adapting to the changing consumer habits of Chinese customers. It’s important to manage both the digital experience and the in-store experience simultaneously.

Did you perceive a sense of freedom of action from the moment you took on your new role?

Yes, I was free to make proposals. In a year and a half, many strategies have been successfully implemented. The first thing I did when I joined Breguet was to break down information silos between departments. For me, proposing a strong project right from the start was the best way to get employees on board. Trust and transparency are essential for motivation. A few organizational changes were implemented—in the markets and internally—to support this transformation, but in a natural way. Six new market managers were hired, and a new sales manager and a new marketing manager joined the team within a few months of my arrival.

What is the ten-year vision?

The roadmap is set through 2035. Our product strategy is very clear. We will reduce the number of models while embracing customization and seeking to win over new customers. As for production capabilities, vertical integration is in place, but we must adapt by becoming more agile. In this regard, investments have been made to acquire new machinery. As for innovation, Breguet’s integration into the JD7 innovation campus in Neuchâtel starting in 2027 (Editor’s note: The JD7 project hosts companies specializing in micro- and nanotechnologies) will allow us to conduct fundamental research.

To support this shift in the brand’s direction, wouldn’t it make sense to join Watches and Wonders in 2027?

That is not the group’s intention. The brands must reach out to customers and the media in their respective markets.