17 of the best French watch brands keeping the historic craft alive

Borna Bošnjak

While Switzerland is regarded as the high-end watchmaking epicentre, it wasn’t always so. Along with many English watchmakers, it was France that led the way in making strides in chronometric invention. In the late 18th century, Paris was home to three historical greats – Abraham-Louis Breguet, Ferdinand Berthoud, and Jean-Antonie Lépine, along with other notable contemporaries, such as the inventor of detent escapement Pierre Le Roy, who became largely forgotten over the centuries.

Today, much of French watchmaking is focused on the entry level, with microbrands such as Baltic and Serica, though there’s also a fair share of haute horlogerie makers capable of producing their own movements, too. Let’s get into the 17 you should certainly pay attention to, in alphabetical order.

Auffret Paris

We begin with one of the rising young stars of French independent watchmaking. Théo Auffret studied under Jean-Baptiste Viot and apprenticed at Luca Soprana’s Ateliers 7h38, eventually winning F.P. Journe’s Young Talent Competition in 2018 with the wonderful Tourbillon à Paris depicted above. The limited first run was highly successful, and Auffret’s second release was the Tourbillon Grand Sport, earning him a nomination at the GPHG awards. Inspired by the likes of Journe and Viot, Auffret’s pieces also tribute early French masters like Breguet and Berthoud – but it’s not just all classical and high-end. Along with Guillaume Laidet, Auffret also runs SpaceOne watches, a microbrand focusing on making high-end complications and finishing as affordable as possible.

Borna’s pick: Auffret Tourbillon à Paris. Price: €108,000 (~US$117,000)

Baltic

Since the Kickstarter launch, Baltic has had the vintage re-issue looks on lock, regardless of the collection that you’re looking at. Whether you’re after a stealthy field watch, Art Deco micro-rotor, or decadent cocktail watch, Baltic has got you covered. It’s one of the microbrands that got the design right from the outset, and has become a giant in the space (pun fully intended) – and we’re quite fond of them at T+T.

Borna’s pick: Baltic Prismic with mesh bracelet. Price: US$1,300, from the Time+Tide Shop.

Bell & Ross

Beginning as a university project more than 30 years ago, Bell & Ross watches were initially made by German makers Sinn, before shifting production to Switzerland after Chanel acquired a stake. Best known for the square Instrument watches, Bell & Ross’ collection is divided into five main lines also including Urban, Vintage, Concept, and Haute Horlogerie. The recent collaborations with Kenissi suggest the brand will be moving away from entry-level Sellita offerings, making them even more appealing to enthusiasts looking for something different – especially if you’re after lume.

Borna’s pick: Bell & Ross BR 03 Black Matte. Price: US$4,100

Cartier

Much like Bell & Ross and some others on this list, Cartier’s watch production is Swiss-based, but the heart of the company is most certainly Parisian – even though some of their most significant watches were designed in London, but that’s a story for another time. Founded in Paris in 1847, the name would become widely known only by the close of the 19th century thanks to the founder’s grandsons – Louis, Pierre and Jacques. Cartier has exploded in popularity in recent times thanks to its focus on shaped cases and is one of the rare brands that can claim to have produced several iconic designs – Tank, Santos, Pasha – to name a few.

Borna’s pick: Cartier Privé Normale in platinum. Price: US$$53,500

Lecomte

As someone who teaches at the Lycée Edgar Faure (France’s principal watchmaking school) and has taught Remy Cools and Théo Auffret a thing or two, Florent Lecomte is certainly capable of making beautiful watches. Surprise surprise – he does – though it’s not something he pursued until the COVID pandemic put a stop to teaching. As you may expect from a young, independent watchmaker focusing on classical watches, Breguet is a big influence, as is 18th-century watchmaking in general. Lecomte produces most components in-house regardless of complexity, the balance wheel of the Series 2 being one example, cementing the basics such as the gear train in Unitas architecture. With his first two models sold out, the third series will feature a retrograde minutes and jumping hours display, with pricing details not yet revealed.

Borna’s pick: Lecomte Series 1. Price: starting from €4,000, sold out (~US$4,500)

Leroy

How about a name that was likely essential for watchmaking progress, but has fallen to 20th-century challenges – though this time, not the quartz crisis. The brand was named after Basile-Charles Le Roy, son of Basile Le Roy. Though neither hailed from a watchmaking background, they shared a surname with a father and son duo that were regarded as top watchmakers of the time – Julien and Pierre Le Roy, watchmakers to the king, with Le Roy Jr also inventing the detent escapement. The company stayed in the Le Roy family for some time, before being sold to Casimir Desfontaines in 1845, though the name Leroy stayed. Eventually, Desfontaines would pass, and the company would be inherited by another Leroy – Louis – whose name the brand would bear even after being taken over by the Festina group in 2004.

Leroy has made some attempts to reinvent itself, most notably and most recently in 2015 with the Chronometre Observatoire OnlyWatch, though the L200 movement proved too costly to produce. Nevertheless, the limited production runs of high-end tourbillons and jewellery pieces are hard to come by nowadays, though the brand is planning a comeback in the second half of 2024.

Borna’s pick: L. Leroy Minute Repeater Flying Tourbillon. Price on request

Lip

Doing a complete 180 in terms of design language, we look at Lip, certainly best-known for the industrial, square-but-round pieces with funky pushers and crowns. The best example of this is the March 2000 Chronograph, designed by Roger Tallon and originally powered by a manually wound Valjoux calibre. Fortunately for those who wish to stray away from the potential, and let’s face it, highly likely, aches of owning a vintage chronograph, Lip offers a vintage re-issue powered by a quartz movement. Though it’s somewhat pricey for what it is, retailing for €449 on the Lip website, absolutely nothing else looks like it, making it a worthwhile consideration in my view.

Borna’s pick: Lip Mach 2000 Chronograph. Price: €449 (~US$500)

Maison Alcée

Have you ever wanted to have a DIY experience that was more than a simple kit or scrapping together some modded Seiko parts? Clearly, Alcée Montfort thought the same and used her knowledge of working with Cartier and TAG Heuer to create the Percée clock. With the help of another Lycée Edgar Faure teacher, this time Thierry Ducret, they assembled a do-it-yourself kit that anyone can assemble at home with a bit of time and patience. The components are well-finished, and trickier parts like the regulator come pre-assembled, with optional upgrades to a chiming complication, and even a watchmaker’s bench as an added accessory. This novel idea earned the brand the Audacity Prize at the 2023 edition of the GPHGs.

Borna’s pick: Maison Alcée Percée. Price: starting from €5,500

Pequignet

It’s been more than a decade since Pequignet introduced its in-house Calibre Royal, and the Morteau-based manufacturer has been making the most of it since. Most of the movement’s parts are supplied by French partners, and its finishing is quite impressive – chamfering, striping, perlage and a soleil-brushed, hulking gold barrel providing 88 hours of power reserve. On the flip side, much of the Royale collection is classically inspired, though there are plenty of sporty options too, fitted on rubber straps and with suitable water resistance ratings. The real revelation is that all of the Royale models, save for three precious metal references, retail for €10,000 or (comfortably) less. Factor in some second-hand depreciation, and there seems to be plenty of value here.

Borna’s pick: Pequignet Royale Paris. Price: €8,000 (~US$8,700)

Remy Cools

Remember how I mentioned F.P. Journe’s Young Talent competition? Well, it just so happens that in the same year Théo Auffret won, Remy Cools was also awarded the prize for his tourbillon-equipped school watch. Having graduated from the same Morteau school, it’s this watch that inspired his first serial release, the Tourbillon Souscription, which evolved into the Tourbillon Atelier, with improvements across the board. The case is more wearable, with Cools opting for a traditional 3 o’clock crown as opposed to the flip tabs on the caseback of his prior designs, but not compromising on finishing. The entire watch is hand-made and finished by Cools and his partner, with an aesthetic reminiscent of Breguet and Daniels.

Borna’s pick: Remy Cools Tourbillon Atelier. Price: €159,000 (~US$173,000)

Sartory Billard

Extant in the micro-independent sphere since 2015, Sartory Billard has made its name in offering highly customisable pieces at affordable prices. That doesn’t quite tell the full story, but let’s just say that you could tell Armand Billard that you’d like that watch you saw on Instagram, but with an aventurine and lapis dial, fitted in a tantalum case, with Eastern Arabic numerals. His response is more than likely to be “bien sûr!” Offered either with two grades of La Joux-Perret movements, the SB04, SB05, and SB07 have been the brand’s bread and butter, with impressive suppliers such as Comblémine and Voutilainen & Cattin producing certain components.

In the last few years, however, Sartory Billard also expanded into the haute horlogerie realm with its own tourbillon movements and the exceptional use of sapphire. Watches like the SB06 combine a flying tourbillon with either a 12 or 24-hour time display, but the sapphire bridges on the back are my personal favourite. The brand’s latest project, the SB08 and its jumping hour mechanism, came to be in the most unique way, with movement prototypist Mathieu Cleguer responding to SB’s Instagram request to develop the movement, once again with more sapphire bridges added to the mix.

Borna’s pick: I’d need to think a lot harder about this one, but probably a tantalum SB05. Price: starting from €9,280 (~US$10,000)

Semper & Adhuc

Semper & Adhuc is not a company that makes vintage reissues, but somehow, their watches manage to capture the charm of vintage watches in a modern package. It’s not just the font and parchment-like dials, but also the beating hearts of the watches themselves. Rather than going to one of the big guns of third-party movement supply à la Seiko or Miyota, Semper & Adhuc sources vintage Swiss movements, most often A. Schild’s AS1012, and gives them a new lease on life.

Borna’s pick: Semper & Adhuc L’Inopinée Originale. Price: €2,000 (~US$2,200)

Serica

Serica isn’t a brand-new microbrand, though ITS time in the limelight came with its second release, the 5303, a successful follow-up to the 4512 field watch. The brand also offers a GMT powered by the Soprod C125, taking the styling of the 5303 and adding a funky lollipop-style GMT hand. All of the watches in Serica’s collection are clearly vintage-inspired but manage to retain some of the quirkiness that often gets lost with (too) carefully thought-out and corporate-driven launches.

Borna’s pick: Serica 5303 Diving Chronometer. Price: €1,490 (~US$1,620)

Sylvain Pinaud

Though his workshop is in Switzerland, Sylvain Pinaud’s beginnings very much qualify him as a French watchmaker. His introduction into watchmaking, the Monopoussoir Chronograph, perhaps deserved more attention than just winning a French national competition. Nevertheless, Pinaud had an ace up his sleeve, revealed in early 2022. The Origine was proof that Pinaud is one of the most exciting new independents around, having cut his teeth under restoring specialist Dominique Mouret as well as Franck Muller. “Hand made” is proudly displayed on the sub-dial, hinting at the amount of time it must’ve taken to grain, polish, and bevel to this level.

Borna’s pick: Sylvain Pinaud Origine. Price: starting from CHF 65,000 (~US$70,500)

Trilobe

Unlike many other independent startup founders on this list, Gautier Massonneau is not a watchmaker by trade. Quitting his bank job in 2016, he launched Trilobe two years later and succeeded in immediately differentiating his brand thanks to the signature three-ring display. Initially modifying standard Swiss base calibres with the help of Chronode, Trilobe became yet another brand to use the services of Le Cercle des Horlogers, developing the X-Centric micro-rotor calibre that is now used across all of its collections.

Borna’s pick: Trilobe Une Folle Journée Dune. Price: €23,500 (~US$25,500)

Yema

Yema is a brand that is fighting tooth and nail to make France more recognised as a watchmaking centre. The brand has long offered an in-house movement in the YEMA2000, into which it poured millions of Euros which is basically unheard of for a brand that many consider a micro. Doubling down on this idea of total independence, the Besançon-based watchmaker launched the Olivier Mory-designed Morteau 20, an ultra-thin micro-rotor movement mostly produced in its Morteau workshops. Yema still relies on movement partners for certain collections – notably ETA for the latest hand-wound Urban Field collection.

Borna’s pick: Yema Superman Skin Diver Slim CMM.20. Price: US$2,249

ZRC

If I asked you about a watch issued to the Marine Nationale, you’d likely think of Tudor’s pale blue Submariner and its snowflake hands, or perhaps the Doxa Divingstar Marine Nationale, but my guess is that ZRC won’t get too many shouts. At first glance, what a strange watch this is. I picked out the Grands Fonds, as it resembles ZRC’s ’60s offerings most closely, though the curious look is consistent throughout the collection. The shape is reminiscent of a skin diver, but with the crown cajoled in between the lugs at 6 o’clock, and what even is that bracelet? The look comes from its complex engineering, as it’s adjustable on-the-fly for expeditions requiring a wetsuit, but also due to its integrated spring system that stretches and contracts to perfectly fit the wearer’s wrist.

Borna’s pick: ZRC Grands Fonds Réédition. Price: CHF 3,690 (~US$4,200)