When Jean-Marc Pontroué stepped into the role of CEO at Breitling earlier this year, he inherited a watchmaker with an unmistakable identity, a rich aviation and chronograph heritage, and a global audience that has expanded well beyond traditional collectors. His challenge now is to build on that momentum without losing the clarity and character that have come to define the brand.
Drawing on experience across some of watchmaking’s most recognised maisons, Pontroué is focused on evolution rather than reinvention: strengthening Breitling’s technical credentials, deepening relationships with clients and finding new ways to make its icons relevant to a new generation.
Here, he discusses his vision for Breitling, the importance of authenticity, the brand’s growing female audience, its ambitions in the Middle East, and what comes next as Breitling expands beyond the watch into culture, community and experience.
You joined Breitling as CEO earlier this year. What were your first impressions of the brand from the inside, and did anything surprise you?
My first impression was one of tremendous energy. Breitling is a well-known brand from the outside, of course, but once you come inside, you discover how much passion and entrepreneurial spirit run through the organisation.
What surprised me most was the coherence between the brand’s history and how the teams think today. Breitling has an extraordinary heritage in aviation, chronographs, diving and adventure, but it is not a company that is simply looking backwards.
There is a real appetite to keep moving, challenge ourselves, and make the brand relevant for the next generation of clients.
Breitling underwent a remarkable transformation under Georges Kern. Which elements of that revival do you consider essential to preserve, and where do you see opportunities to evolve?
The most important thing to preserve is clarity. Over the past years, Breitling has developed a much stronger and more coherent identity. The collections are clearly defined, the design language is recognisable, and the brand has reconnected with important parts of its heritage without becoming nostalgic.
That balance between heritage and modernity is absolutely essential. Georges and his team also built a very strong emotional connection with clients through a more relaxed, inclusive and lifestyle-oriented approach to luxury. I believe that is something worth protecting.
Where can we evolve? I think evolution is always about going deeper, not simply becoming bigger or louder. We can continue to strengthen our product offering, deepen our relationships with collectors and clients, and further develop the brand’s technical credibility. We should also keep asking ourselves how Breitling can remain surprising. A successful brand must have consistency, but it must never become predictable.
You bring extensive experience from your previous roles. What do you believe you can bring to Breitling at this stage of its development, and what do you hope to learn from Breitling?
I have had the privilege of working with very different watchmaking brands and organisations, from Montblanc to Roger Dubuis and Panerai. Each experience taught me something different about product, distribution, brand building and, perhaps most importantly, people.
I hope I can bring that perspective to Breitling: the ability to respect a strong identity while continuing to evolve it. At this stage, I believe experience can help an organisation distinguish between what should change and what absolutely should not.
But joining a new company is also about learning. Breitling has its own culture, its own rhythm and a very particular relationship with its clients. I am spending a great deal of time listening to the teams, our retail and wholesale partners, and collectors.
You can have decades of experience in this industry, but every maison teaches you something new. That is one reason this business remains so fascinating.
What can you reveal about Breitling’s releases at Geneva Watch Days?
At Geneva Watch Days, we unveiled a very special chapter in the Navitimer story: the Navitimer B09 Chronograph 41 Tribute to Miles Davis, celebrating the centennial of Miles Davis’s birth.
Miles Davis had a genuine connection with the Navitimer. In the 1960s, at the height of his influence, he was frequently seen wearing the watch. It was not a partnership; it was simply his personal choice. In many ways, he helped take the Navitimer beyond its aviation roots and into music, style and culture. This tribute celebrates that authentic connection and his extraordinary legacy.
The launch also sets the stage for something new for Breitling: the Breitling Social Club, our first private members’ club, planned to open in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in fall 2027.
Jazz clubs were perhaps the original social clubs, places where music, culture and interesting people came together. That is the spirit we want to create with Breitling: a place where collectors, creatives, entrepreneurs, artists, and enthusiasts can connect and experience the brand in a new way.
Owners of one of the 500 Miles Davis tribute pieces will receive a two-year pioneer membership, while the 50 buyers of the exclusive Lifetime Club Member Set will receive lifetime membership.
For me, this is a natural next step for Breitling: bringing the brand to life beyond the watch and creating a community around the passions that unite us.
Breitling has several instantly recognisable collections, including the Navitimer, Chronomat, Superocean and Premier. How do you balance the strength of these icons with the need to innovate?
I don’t see heritage and innovation as opposites. In fact, the strongest innovation often begins with a very clear understanding of what made an icon iconic in the first place.
With a collection such as the Navitimer, for example, certain codes immediately define it. The challenge is to understand which elements are essential to its identity and where you have the freedom to reinterpret, improve or surprise.
The same is true across the portfolio. We do not need to reinvent an icon every year. Sometimes the most intelligent innovation is subtle: a proportion, a material, a movement, a new technical capability or a different way of wearing the watch. Like we did with the new Chronomat, for instance.
At the same time, a brand cannot live entirely from its past. Our responsibility is to ensure that someone discovering Breitling for the first time today finds the product as exciting and relevant as someone who has collected the brand for 20 years.
For me, the key is respect without reverence. You respect the icon, but you don’t put it in a museum.
How important will in-house movements and technical development be within the brand’s future product strategy?
They will remain very important. Breitling’s credibility has always been closely connected to functionality, precision and performance, and technical development is fundamental to that story.
At the same time, I don’t believe that “in-house” should become an end in itself. The important question is: what value does a movement or a technical development bring to the product and to the client? If developing something internally allows us to create a stronger, more distinctive and more relevant watch, then of course it is strategically important.
Breitling has already made significant investments in its manufacture capabilities and proprietary movements, including the Breitling 01 chronograph calibre and the more recent B31. The direction is clear: technical substance should support the brand’s long-term positioning and strengthen our independence and expertise.
But technical excellence must always be connected to the emotion of the product.
Breitling has worked to broaden its appeal to women in recent years. How do you intend to develop this part of the business further?
Over the past two years, we have significantly expanded our offering for women across three of our iconic families: the Navitimer, Chronomat and Superocean Heritage. Today, there is much greater choice in sizes, materials, and styles, and I think that is an important evolution for the brand.
We have seen this recently with the relaunch of the Chronomat, introducing elements such as mother-of-pearl dials, diamond-set bezels and contemporary shades including chocolate brown and dove grey. And with the new Lady Premier collection, we are continuing to explore a different expression of Breitling, one that really reflects the personality and diversity of the Breitling woman.
We have also introduced a couple of Chronomat Middle East editions created specifically for women, with gold tones, diamonds and Indian numerals on the dial.
But I see this as an ongoing conversation rather than something that is finished. Our female audience is growing, and it is important that we continue to listen and understand what clients are looking for. The opportunity is to offer greater choice without losing the clarity of the Breitling identity, and to continue developing collections that reflect different styles, preferences and ways of wearing a watch.
Ambassadors and sporting partnerships are central to Breitling’s identity. What will you look for in future collaborators, and how will you ensure these relationships remain authentic?
For us, whether we are talking about a global ambassador or a more local collaboration, it has always been about finding the right person rather than simply finding the biggest name.
We look for individuals who have achieved something meaningful in their field and who have an inspiring story or journey. But just as importantly, they must have a genuine connection to the values and spirit of Breitling. Authenticity is difficult to manufacture. You can usually feel when a relationship is natural and when it is not.
The same philosophy applies to our partnerships. From our long-standing relationship with Etihad Airways and our global connection with Formula 1, to more community-focused partnerships with Wolfi’s cycling community, local surf communities and riders, the objective is always to build relationships that make sense for the brand.
These partnerships reflect different aspects of Breitling: adventure, purpose, performance and, importantly, community. They allow us to connect with people through shared passions rather than simply putting our name alongside an event or an individual.
I think that is the key going forward: fewer relationships that feel purely transactional, and more that have a real story and a genuine connection behind them.
How do you plan to deepen Breitling’s relationship with clients in the Middle East, and could we see more local collaborations, special editions or exclusive experiences?
The Middle East is a very important region for Breitling, and we see significant opportunities to continue deepening our relationship with clients here. For me, the important thing is to create experiences and products that feel genuinely relevant to the region, while continuing to strengthen the connection between our clients and the brand.
The Breitling Kitchen in Riyadh is a very good example of this. It is a unique concept, currently exclusive to the region, and goes beyond the traditional boutique environment. It reflects our ambition to create spaces where people can experience Breitling in a different and perhaps more unexpected way.
We have also launched several Middle East exclusive editions that have been exceptionally well received. And I can say that we have another special edition coming soon. This time, it will be something a little different: for the first time, it will be an entire collection rather than a single timepiece, featuring a variety of hues inspired by the region’s colours.
Again, I don’t want to reveal too much before the launch, but it is an important project for us. It reflects both the significance of the Middle East for Breitling and our desire to create products and experiences that bring the brand closer to our local communities.
What else can you share with us that’s coming up for the brand this year and into 2027?
As we look towards 2027, our ambition is to continue strengthening Breitling as a global lifestyle brand while remaining firmly rooted in what makes us unique: our Swiss watchmaking heritage, our spirit of adventure and our connection with communities around the world.
As mentioned before, one of the most exciting developments will be the opening of the first Breitling Social Club in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, planned for fall 2027. It will bring together collectors, entrepreneurs, creatives, artists and Breitling enthusiasts through a year-round programme of hospitality, culture and exclusive experiences.
For me, the Social Club is an important next step for Breitling. We are not moving away from watches, quite the opposite. The watch remains at the centre of everything we do. We are building on the emotional connection people have with the brand and exploring how we can bring that connection to life in new ways.
And Williamsburg is just the beginning. We see the potential to build a global network of Breitling Social Clubs, with a second project already in the pipeline in Miami.
Ultimately, it is about creating places and experiences around the shared passions, culture and sense of community that have always been part of the Breitling spirit.
By Lindsay Judge
