8 Trés Chic French Watches Perfect for Commemorating the Olympics, from Breguet to Cartier
The opening ceremony for the 2024 Olympic Games takes place in Paris on July 26th. Whether or not you’re attending the games, one way to celebrate the start of the world’s biggest sporting event, and to show some espirit de corps with your fellow Francophiles, is by treating yourself to a French watch. Of course, you could go for the very Swiss Omega Speedmasters that came out to commemorate the Paris Olympics earlier this year, and that would be a tasty choice, but perhaps something more French is in order.
Also, if you’re going to be in Paris for the games (or anytime really) we have an excellent guide to the best watch boutiques in Paris for you, as well.
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While not all of the timepieces highlighted below were made in France (so few watches are anymore), they each have deep connections to Paris, French watchmaking and/or Gallic style. And, as we’ve written elsewhere, French watchmaking has a long-standing and powerful influence on Swiss watchmaking. In fact, it was in Paris the Louis Cartier perfected the Tank that would go on to make wearing a watch on the wrist popular in the first place, this during the 1920s and 30s. And, of course, Cartier watches are all the rage these days, including the rather tiny Tank Mini, which made big waves at Watches and Wonders this year, as well as the Tortue, which made our best-of list this year.
Indeed, the Parisian horological roots run deep, but it’s not all Cartier. From Louis Erard’s whimsical collaboration with French interior-designer-turned-watchmaker Alain Silberstein to the dreamy, avant-garde designs of Paris-based Trilobe, there’s something for everyone in this mix.
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Cartier Privé Tortue
Of all the watches Cartier introduced at Watches and Wonders Geneva this year, the Tortue re-edition was the most talked-about. Even older than the Tank, the tortoise-shaped model (born in 1912) is now available in a monopusher chronograph as well as the simpler “hours and minutes” platinum version shown here. Limited to 200 pieces, the stylish and shapely Tortue, which comes out in September, makes clear that even though Cartier manufactures all of its watches in Switzerland, the Paris-based brand is French to its core. $35,600
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Breguet Classique Double Tourbillon “Quai de l’Horloge” 5345
Although Breguet is now based in Switzerland, its namesake, Abraham-Louis Breguet, inventor of the tourbillon as well as the now-ubiquituous Breguet hands and numerals, made his mark on horology in Paris, where he maintained a workshop at 39 Quai de l’Horloge. The brand pays tribute to that history with its latest tourbillon, a 46 mm rose gold wristwatch equipped with not one, but two of the whirling mechanisms. Be sure to admire the engraving on the back of the movement, which depicts an aerial view of the workshop. C’est magnifique! Price on request.
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Trilobe Les Matinaux L’Heure Exquise Dune Edition
In 2018, Paris-based Trilobe introduced its Les Matinaux (“The Morning”) collection, and with it, a new way of telling the time. Employing a wandering display, the watch used three discs that rotated counterclockwise and three fixed pointers to indicate the hours, minutes and seconds. Named after a collection by the midcentury French poet René Char, the series recently spawned a new sand-colored Dune edition that marks the brand’s entrée into the world of complications. Limited to 100 pieces, the model, dubbed L’Heure Exquise (“The Exquisite Hour”), features a moonphase complication that evokes the orbit of the Moon around the Earth against the backdrop of a starry night sky. $14,400
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Chanel Monsieur de Chanel Édition Superleggera Intense Black
Arguably the Frenchiest brand on our list, Chanel made a name for itself as a high-end (as opposed to fashion) watchmaker in 1999, when it introduced its signature timepiece, the J12 (in unusual-for-the-time ceramic, no less). At Watches and Wonders Geneva in April, the brand upped the ante with its latest Monsieur timepiece, the Superleggera Intense Black, a limited edition of 100 pieces inspired by car racing. Housed in a matte black ceramic and steel case, the watch features a matte black guilloché dial and comes on a black nylon strap with black calfskin leather trim and lining. $45,600
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Hermès Arceau Grand Tralala Brides et Mors
Like so many of Hermès’s most sought-after watches, the new 34 mm Arceau Grand Tralala Brides et Mors traces its design to another Hermès product, in this case the Grand Tralala silk scarf created by French artist Virginie Jamin. Patterned after the prestigious harnesses worn by the Royal Hungarian Bodyguard in the 19th century, the graphic design evokes the look of intertwined bridles and bits within a rose gold frame. Note the bit-shaped seconds hand! $47,250
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Louis Erard x Alain Silberstein Smile-Day
Imagine if Rolex’s much-talked-about emoji watch of 2023 had a child with the Memphis Group, a collective of Milan-based architects and designers who became known in the 1980s for their use of bright primary colors and bold patterns. That’s a quick way to describe the new 40 mm Smile-Day limited edition in titanium from Swiss watchmaker Louis Erard, whose latest collaboration with the iconoclastic French watchmaker Alain Silberstein reflects his signature whimsy. Silberstein was trained in graphic design and architecture in Paris by former members of Germany’s Bauhaus faculty, and he takes his whimsy very seriously. Between the aperture at six o’clock featuring a sliding carousel of seven emojis, the yellow squiggly seconds hand and the nostalgic color scheme, the piece is an instant classic. $5,250
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Louis Vuitton Escale
The dress watch revival continues with the new Escale by Louis Vuitton, an elegant timepiece honoring the 10th anniversary of the Escale collection (its first time-only, three-hand watch). Of the four new models in the line, two come in rose gold (like the 39 mm automatic model shown here), while the other two come in platinum. The former feature textured dials designed to evoke the suppleness and tactility of the Louis Vuitton Monogram canvas on metal. Equipped with a chronometer-certified movement with 50 hours of power reserve, the rose-gold Escale comes on a calf-leather strap. In a press release, the brand made sure to emphasize the model’s roots: “Just below the 12 o’clock hour marker, under the Louis Vuitton logo, is one word that encapsulates everything there is to be known about the Escale’s creative rebirth: Paris.” $26,400
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Bell & Ross BR 03 Diver Full Lum
The BR03 Diver from Paris-based Bell & Ross celebrates its seventh anniversary this year. Recognized as the first square diving watch, the 2024 edition is new in more ways than one. Composed of five new models, including the full lume version with a pale blue dial shown here, the series is equipped with an improved automatic movement boasting 54 hours of power reserve, new typography, redesigned hands for optimal legibility and a new adaptable strap. $5,400
