The traveller's watchmaking: Two stories of time

Every self-respecting traveller loves his or her small travel accessories that make life easier. These range from a simple travel cushion to support a long flight to a rented car to explore a country. Beautiful things come from all over the world and each country has its own speciality such as Italy and leather, France and haute couture or Germany and beautiful cars. Another accessory appreciated by the traveller is an innocuous element of clothing but nevertheless essential: the watch. Villanovo tells you the story of two watch brands with an extremely rich past. Discover or rediscover where the most beautiful timepieces that fit so well on your wrist come from.

Discover the history of Rolex in Switzerland

You will have to fly to Switzerland to discover the history of the undeniable Rolex watch brand. From diamond-adorned watches to the most sober ones such as the famous Oyster or the Daytona, Rolex is a name in the watchmaking world. Rolex accompanies and dresses men and women whose ambition extends beyond borders. More than just a watch, this jewel accompanies travellers "from the top of the highest mountains to the depths of the oceans" to give them the time and guide them, whatever the conditions. Rolex supports many sports such as sailing, golf and equestrian sports. Hans Wilsdorf founded rolex in 1920 and aims to combine watchmaking and exploration. For this man who saw the world as an open-air laboratory, it was a real success. Rolex watches have been tested on all possible terrains: from the humidity of the savannahs to the cold of the North, everything is designed to support explorers who are exploring the unknown. Wearing Rolex, the brand with the crown, is not only wearing a luxury watch, but above all it is adorning itself with a quality know-how that defies all conditions and adapts to any type of enthusiastic traveller.

The initiator of Fine Watchmaking, Breguet.

The story began in 1801 when Abraham-Louis Breguet dressed the Queen of Naples and sister of Napoleon 1st Caroline Murat in the first wristwatch in the history of watchmaking. At the age of 28, Breguet already had his own Parisian watchmaking workshop where in 1780 he invented the automatic watch, i. e. the movements of the clock are generated by the movements of the wearer of the watch. It was in 1783 that Abraham Berget was recognized as a "master watchmaker" and the same year, an admirer of Marie-Antoinette (of whom he was the watchmaker) commissioned from him a watch with all the possible compilations to be integrated into a watch, but the work of this work was completed 4 years later thanks to the predecessors of the Breguet genius. Today, Breguet is the watchmaker of the Russian imperial navy, and has adorned historical figures such as Napoleon Bonaparte and Winston Churchill. Abraham Breguet is considered a scientist for his research and inventions in watchmaking, since he invented the tourbillon regulator, which gives more precision to the watch by defying Earth's gravity, which he patented in 1801. When we mention Breguet, we are talking about Haute Horlogerie à la Française. You can wear Breguet during a wild getaway in Corsica or during a relaxing weekend in Ibiza.