Not all Manufactures are alike, even those belonging to the major brands. Confirming the truth of this statement is the inherent purpose of the GMT Watch Safari and an observation made during our recent visit to Breitling Chronométrie in La Chaux-de-Fonds. The consistency of the brand – propelled into a new dimension under the leadership of Georges Kern since 2017 – is confirmed on the outside through its branding, albeit in a subtly understated way. The meteoric growth enjoyed by Breitling Chronométrie involves two buildings totaling 6,000sqm linked by a corridor and evoking an airport terminal, as well as an additional 1000sqm area rented in a neighboring property. Here, more than 300 people work meticulously to create the movements as well as assemble and case up some 200,000 timepieces a year – of which 85,000 are equipped with in-house calibers. At the brand’s historic headquarters in Grenchen, Breitling employs a further 200 people (for bracelet assembly alongside other manufacturing sstages and shipping), not to mention another 80 in Zurich dedicated to sales and marketing support. All Breitling watches are COSC-certified, a commitment expressed as early as 1999 and reinforced in 2009 with the creation of the first in-house caliber – of which Breitling now has a dozen. The brand makes no secret of the fact that in order to support its expansion, it also works with an extensive network of sub-contractors for hands, dials and movements.
Embracing modernity
Upon entering the four-storied building with its wide, open staircases and visuals of planes and pilots adorning the steel and glass walls, one cannot help drawing comparisons with an airport. This is very much the Breitling world and passengers should prepare to fasten their seat belts. Mannequins evoking the famous Breitling Pilots and coffee tables shaped like aircraft propellers blend into the decor, contrasting with Italian marble. Throughout the workshops, paintings by retro-modern German artist Jürg Öring add color and interest amid the ultra-modern Swiss-made machinery. Breitling’s pioneering spirit is evident in these machines, since the brand was the first to use dry (lubricant-free) machining on such a large scale. The complex houses R&D, the technical department, industrialization, micromechanics, prototyping, component assembly and watch-head assembly, as well as decoration and casing-up. More than 40 professions coexist here and processes are constantly optimized. Large bay windows overlooking the forest edges and hills behind the building complete the picture.
Promoting productivity
Breitling is known for its efficiency and methodology, which are spectacularly evident here. Dry machining is not only more environmentally friendly, it’s also less costly and more productive. The machines run 24 hours a day, with each line under the responsibility of a daytime operator and dedicated to a special operation (chamfering, cutting, bead-blasting, etc.) or a specific component (bridge, barrel, etc.). The obsession with quality means that each watch undergoes 1,000 checks during its manufacturing process and is delivered to boutiques after eight months. This perfectionism means that certain tools have to be replaced twice a month and all component offcuts are recycled: two tons of shavings reduced to powder and recycled every month.
Machinery is devoted to serving human needs, with the automation of many tasks enabling the “bulk” of certain operations to be handled more quickly. It is nonetheless definitely men and women who devote their skills to ensuring quality, meticulously verifying aspects that machines cannot detect. In the course of production, skilled specialists spot certain small defects – with the naked eye or binoculars – and correct them by means of a few experienced touches. Laminar flow technology in sensitive workshops sucks up all dust, protecting mechanisms and people alike. In addition, all externally sourced components are carefully checked when entering the premises, sometimes to the nearest thousandth of a millimetre. This rigorously disciplined attitude pays off, as the waste rate has fallen to 0.8 %, which has a positive impact on the sales price for customers. When customers are invited to visit the premises, they finish their tour on the top floor, where a very comfortable, hospitable lounge complete with its Breitling bar awaits them, an ideal place in which to relax and admire the collection. A seventh heaven?
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