Breguet – Marie-Antoinette in the Land of the Rising Sun
What do Breguet, Versailles, Queen Marie-Antoinette and Japan have in common? A major retrospective edition to be held from October 25th to February 27th 2017 at the Mori Arts Center Gallery in Tokyo. Here, we take a look back at the exceptional bond that links Breguet to the last queen of France.
Montres Breguet and its President & CEO Marc A. Hayek are honoured to announce an exclusive partnership with the château de Versailles. Following on from the brand’s sponsorship of the restoration of the Petit Trianon, this year Breguet is delighted to support a captivating retrospective dedicated to Queen Marie Antoinette. The exhibition entitled “Marie Antoinette, a Queen in Versailles” will be held from Tuesday, 25 October 2016 to Sunday, 26 February 2017 in the highly renowned Mori Arts Center Gallery in Tokyo, Japan.
The beginnings of a unique bond
After establishing his workshop on Paris’s Quai de l’Horloge in 1775, A.-L. Breguet received his first order from the Queen in 1782, for whom he created a perpetual repeater watch with calendar. It is likely that Breguet was introduced to the Queen at this time. She was soon charmed by the magnificent and ingenious creations of the master watchmaker, becoming one of his first and most faithful admirers. Always on the lookout for promising new creations, she purchased several timepieces from the watchmaker and readily expressed her enthusiasm to the French court and some of her guests, including foreign diplomats. Given the context of courtly life in the 1780s, who could be better placed than the Queen to establish a reputation and promote an as yet relatively unknown name? Until her very last days, the Queen demonstrated exemplary loyalty to the brand and even commissioned a “simple Breguet watch” from within the Temple Prison, where she was held captive in 1792.
The Petit Trianon, the Queen’s favourite estate
As part of its desire to contribute to the preservation of European historical and cultural heritage, Montres Breguet therefore decided to support the château de Versailles by reviving an estate that belonged to Marie Antoinette and which she adored: the Petit Trianon. More than a place of residence, this was a special, sophisticated location where the Queen could escape from the tiresome protocol of the court to enjoy her pastimes and a more authentic lifestyle. The brand’s actions have thus enabled a jewel of French neoclassical architecture to be restored to its former glory. All of the original decorative features have been restored, museological adjustments have been made, the apartments have been refurnished and all the technical installations have been revised. After commencing in 2007, the works came to an end in September 2008.
Marie Antoinette, a source of everyday inspiration
In homage to this prestigious customer, Breguet has regularly drawn inspiration from the Queen’s world to create exceptional pieces. For instance, in 2009 it unveiled the “La Rose de la Reine” High Jewellery line, which is inspired by the famous painting Marie Antoinette with the rose by portrait artist Elisabeth Vigée-Le Brun. Breguet recreated the famous rose held in the Queen’s hands using cameo, the traditional southern Italian art of sculpting the different layers of a shell by hand.
Meanwhile, the “Les Volants de la Reine” collection pays vibrant tribute to the outfits worn by the Queen of France. First presented in 2014, the range astonishes with the elegance and complexity of its shapes, which recall the finest pleated silks and laces that adorned dresses at the time.
The Petit Trianon – the haven of peace in which the Queen loved to relax – has also become a source of inspiration for the Manufacture. The “Petit Trianon” jewellery line, launched in 2009, offers a simple reinterpretation of the refined, royal theme that characterises the place she cherished so dearly.
