Results for Besançon (France)

Riding the Tour de France

The Tour de France is the greatest cycling show on earth and, with a little help from our friends at Tissot, Revolution got to ride before the pros.

At the Tour de France with Tissot

From the picturesque countryside of Lalinde to the historic town of Bergerac, deep in the heart of France’s Dordogne, Revolution joins Tissot on the Tour de France for the experience of a lifetime.

Richard Mille Owns the Tour de France? | The RM 67-02

Introducing - The new TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph 42mm Limited Edition for France

Jack Heuer’s Carrera chronograph and its affiliation with the racing track is borderline legendary, but there is an earlier, lesser-known chapter of the late 1940s involving the development of a purpose-built watch for Abercrombie & Fitch, the upscale American sporting goods company. Still a student, Jack Heuer enlisted his physics teacher to collaborate in the […]

Bring a Loupe: A Museum-Worthy Breguet Collection, A Nomos LE For Air France, And A Hamilton For Orvis

All that and more in this week's edition of Hodinkee's What's Selling Where column.

Just Because - Nomos to Auction Three Air France-Themed Watches for Charity “Aviation sans Frontières”

The title Just Because says it all… because today we’re not talking about the latest release of a brand for sale the next day in stores, waiting for you to spend your money. Today, we are publishing a story for a good cause, to benefit those in need, those who have fewer opportunities than many […]

Introducing - The Patriotic Depancel Allure Valjoux 92 Bleu de France

The name Depancel speaks volumes about where this independent French brand finds inspiration. Amalgamating the names of three prestigious French carmakers – Delage, Panhard, and Facel Vega – Depancel and the world of motorsports are inseparable. Its Allure collection of automatic and manual-winding chronographs welcomes a limited edition powered by a restored 1950s Valjoux 92 […]

Bell & Ross Introduces their Latest Patrouille de France Collaboration

I don’t know what it is exactly, but there’s something thrilling about air shows. In fact, every summer in my hometown, people will pull their deck chairs onto the road to catch a glimpse of the U.S. Air Force demonstrating an F-35A. And even I, as jaded as I am, do get a slight buzz when they zoom across the sky, doing loop-de-loops while I commute home. And that’s just in rural Pennsylvania – imagine if I was commuting to my maison in France while the Patrouille de France whizzed by with their signature red, white, and blue smoke trailing behind. Quel spectacle! While I have no plans to move to France anytime soon, I can say that Bell & Ross’ latest addition to their continued collaboration with the aerobatics demonstration unit of the French Air and Space Force, the BR-05 Chrono Patrouille de France, does add a little je ne sais quoi to one’s wrist, n’est-ce pas? (Okay, last time I speak French here, I promise). As with previous iterations of this collaboration, Bell & Ross seamlessly incorporates aeronautical motifs within the framework of the brand’s design ethos. Keeping with their “circle within a square” design, the BR-05 Chrono has presence on the wrist, clocking in at 42mm. But it’s the little elements that show the true partnership with the Patrouille de France. Details like the light blue sunburst dial, echoing the pilots’ flight suits, and the dark blue rehaut and subdials, referencing the aircraft’s fuselage, make the design stand ou...

Introducing - The new Bell & Ross BR-05 Chrono Patrouille de France

French brand Bell & Ross has a long history of partnering with special forces, diving commandos, air forces and anything military-issued. These connections with the world of aviation and military forces have been at the centre of the brand’s development since its debut in 1992. More recently, in 2021, Bell & Ross announced a rather […]

Introducing - The France-Only Zenith Defy Skyline Edition Paris

Released in 2022, the Defy Skyline was Zenith‘s answer to the growing demand for sports watches with integrated bracelets. Blending historical cues of the late 1960s Defy model with modern mechanics and design elements, it fuses the styles of the Defy Classic and Defy Extreme into a new interpretation of a luxury sports watch. As […]

Definitely Doux: A stalwart in France’s luxury watch and jewelry scene

One To Watch: After Teaching France's Brightest Young Watchmakers, Florent Lecomte Is Ready For His Own Spotlight

Professor, watchmaker, father – can Florent Lecomte do it all?

The Sports Section: The Watch Lover’s Guide To The Tour De France

Come for the Richard Milles, stay for the sausage truck.

Announcements: Roger W. Smith OBE And Mike France Establish The Alliance Of British Watch And Clock Makers

Collectors and enthusiasts are welcome to join the new trade organization for British horology.

Business News: Jean-Claude Biver Receives France's Legion Of Honor

The watch-industry legend has been awarded one of the French republic's most prestigious honors.

Gathering Momentum: Watches Made in France

The once prominent French watchmaking industry is currently witnessing a revival; Revolution looks at some interesting brands making a splash.

The Observatory Chronometers that Timed the Tour de France

Watches once owned by prominent personalities are captivating. Paul Newman’s “Paul Newman” Daytona, the Rolex “Bao Dai”, Buzz Aldrin’s Speedmaster Moonwatch, the Henry Graves Supercomplication, and even J. Pierpont Morgan’s lost pocket watch, are amongst most sought after timepieces in the world. In fact, a good number of the most expensive watches ever sold at auction have notable provenance, which turns a mere watch into a historical artefact. Probably the most important timekeepers in cycling, these are a pair of Longines split-seconds stop watches – refs. 7411 and 8350 respectively – that were used by Jean Pitallier, the former president of the French Cycling Federation, to time the Tour de France in the fading glory days of mechanical sports timing, just before quartz stopwatches took over. In fact, the pair of stopwatches are not merely chronographs, but also observatory certified chronometers. Watchmaking once represented the cutting edge research of mechanical engineering. Observatory time trials at Neuchatel, Geneva or Kew were rigorous scientific affairs, with movements Peseux 260 and Zenith 135 competing to be the most accurate movement in the world. But such movements were three-hand, time-only. Aside from tourbillon movements, very few complicated calibres were submitted to timing contests. Mr Pitallier’s pair of Longines were both certified by the Neuchatel observatory. The swan song of competitive timekeeping In modern day watch collectin...

One Fixed Gear Bike, One IWC Big Pilot And 300km of The Tour De France

Keith at the Tour de France Finish Line

Hands-On: Franck Muller Vanguard Line Cut

First announced two years ago as an exclusive for its retailers in France, the Vanguard Line Cut is strikingly different from the usual Franck Muller offering. Having just two hands and sandblasted titanium all round, the Line Cut is monochromatic, sleek, and thin, while also being as minimalist as a Franck Muller can be. Initial thoughts Better known for its big watches in over-the-top styles, Franck Muller did something different with the Vanguard Line Cut. It’s essentially a flatter, sleeker version of its Vanguard. But the Line Cut is more than a nip and tuck. The tactile feel of the Line Cut is surprising in the hand and on the wrist. It feels different from the typical Franck Muller, being lighter, slimmer, and restrained. And like all tonneau-shaped Franck Muller watches, the case is slightly curved so it hugs the wrist. Unlike most other watches in this segment that emphasise angles and straight lines, like the Bulgari Octo Finissimo for instance, the Line Cut is all about rounded corners and soft edges, so it wears quite comfortably. And the Line Cut has a new calibre developed for the watch, which makes it more interesting in technical terms. That said, the movement is slightly mysterious since Franck Muller provides no info about it other than the specs, at least officially. The specs indicate the movement is indeed an in-house movement, since they don’t correspond to any well-known calibres. (And based on what I have learnt about the movement unofficially, ...

Franck Muller Introduces the Vanguard Line Cut

In a departure from its usual exuberant, Technicolor style, Franck Müller’s latest creation is slim, pared back, and monochromatic. An exclusive for its stores in France, the Vanguard Line Cut is a thin time-only watch entirely in sandblasted titanium, giving it a sleek, clean look. And priced a little under €10,000, it is also affordable as such things go. Initial thoughts While most of the Vanguard models feel derivative, or a bit much, the Line Cut seems just right in size, style, and price. It’s 41 mm wide, smallish by Franck Muller standards, and under 10 mm high, giving it the wide-but-thin proportions of many popular luxury-sports watches. And the pared-back look also extends to its colours and textures – the liberal use of sandblasted titanium is clean and suits the style, resulting in an aesthetic that’s both cohesive and attractive. But its water resistance is only 30 m, which is a bit less than typical for a sports watch. Not much was provided on the FM 708 movement inside, although the Franck Muller says it was developed specifically for this watch. Cintree Curvex Descended from Franck Muller’s signature Cintree Curvex tonneau-shaped watch, the Vanguard is a sports watch that does bear some resemblance to Richard Mille’s familiar case style. But the slimness of the Line Cut brings to mind instead the earliest watches of Franck Muller, which were mostly smaller and thinner than today’s models. The titanium case measures 41 mm by 50 mm, with a...

Introducing - The Baltic Aquascaphe MK2 Diver Resurfaces with the Option of a Date

Baltic Watches, the French indie brand founded by Etienne Malec in 2017, has transcended its status as a microbrand in less than ten years. Designed in Paris and powered by reliable, outsourced movements assembled in Besançon, France, Baltic’s success can be attributed to its retro-flavoured watches coupled with accessible prices. The flagship Aquascaphe Classic, a […]

Industry News - The COSC Releases Excellence Chronometer, its New, Stricter Standard in Chronometry

What is a chronometer…? In short, it is a watch that has been officially tested for its precision. And to guarantee the precision of watches, several tools exist, such as the ISO 3159 standard (which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year) and official organisations, such as the Observatoire de Besançon in France, the Glashütte Observatory […]

Introducing - The Baltic MR Moissanite Final Edition

Baltic was founded in Paris by Étienne Malec and launched via Kickstarter in 2017 with a captivating duo of 1940s-inspired models. Onwards and upwards, the brand now has over ten collections under its belt, many with an emphasis on mid-20th-century aesthetics, and keeps prices in check by outsourcing movements and assembling them in Besançon, France. […]

13 Best French Watch Brands (2026)

Switzerland is the modern world’s center of watchmaking, with Germany a distant but respectable second in Europe and Japan having long staked out its own spot as the premier watch producer in Asia. Great Britain and the U.S.A., while no longer world leaders, both have a proud history of watchmaking and maintain a small but steadily growing cottage industry in the modern era. But France has its own respectable horological heritage, centered around the commune of Besançon (below), which borders Switzerland’s own heartland of watchmaking, the Vallée de Joux.  France was, in fact, a home for many historically significant watchmakers and clockmakers, including Julien Cordray, Jean-Antoine Lépine, Ferdinand Berthoud, and Abraham-Louis Breguet (actually born in the Prussian principality that would become Neuchâtel, Switzerland, but renowned as a Paris-based watchmaker to French royalty). The latter three all plied their trade in workshops on Place Dauphine at the western tip of Paris' Île de la Cité in the Seine. Watchmaking was a thriving industry in France for a century, up until KIng Louis XIV’s (below) revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, which ushered in the religious persecution of Huguenot watchmakers, who fled to Switzerland to essentially establish that nation as a horological power. The French Revolution in the 18th Century, which halted the sales of luxury goods like watches in France, further eroded the country’s watch industry, and it has never ...

Introducing: The New Baltic Hermétique Summer Collection

The Baltic Hermétique has been a bona fide hit since its introduction in 2023. Since then, the Besançon, France-based brand has added new models to the lineup, including additional colors and bronze-cased pieces. Today, and just in time for the warm-weather holidays, a collection of four Hermétique Summer watches has been announced. These brightly colored […] Visit Introducing: The New Baltic Hermétique Summer Collection to read the full article.

First Look - The New, Architectural Yema Granvelle CMM.20 Collection

Unlike the tool-focused Superman line, the latest release of French brand Yema, the Granvelle, takes visual and mechanical cues from France’s long-standing horological tradition and is named after the Granvelle Palace in Besançon, the 16th-century Renaissance building that houses the Museum of Time. But while its inspiration is historic, the execution is modern and precise: […]

Christopher Ward Introduces the new Biscay Dive Watch Collection

Christopher Ward has recently expanded their Trident family with the C60 Trident Biscay, set to replace the C65 Aquitaine. The UK-based watchmaker has pulled inspiration from two reference points: the skin divers of the 1960’s and the collection’s namesake, the Bay of Biscay  – which, for anyone who struggles with geography like moi, is the body of water nestled between the northern coast of Spain and the western coast of France and not Biscayne Bay, which is a lagoon in Florida. The end result is the C60 Trident Biscay Automatic, C60 Trident Biscay GMT, and C60 Trident Biscay Bronze. The first in the collection is the C60 Trident Biscay Automatic, available in 39mm and 42mm stainless steel cases. It uses Christopher Ward’s Light-catcher case with a slim 11mm profile and box sapphire crystal. This particular model also includes a granular dial, minimal text, and applied Arabic numerals at 3, 6, 9, and 12 o’clock. The Automatic is available in black, sand/black, and black/red and has a price tag starting at $1,870. Next is the GMT, which also comes in 39mm and 42mm sizes. Here, Christopher Ward has added a fourth hand for tracking another time zone and a bi-directional aluminum bezel in two-tone color combinations. The framed date window replaces the 6 o’clock numeral, while the surface-hardened bezel has a hardness level of 250HV, which Christopher Ward says is 67% harder than untreated aluminum. The GMT is available in black/red and sand/blue, and is priced f...

Introducing: Czapek's New Quai des Bergues And Place Vendôme Complicité

What We Know Only seven years ago, Czapek, a brand over 180 years old, opened its first modern boutique in Geneva, right next to the brand's original workshop from 1839. Soon after, it opened its first boutique on the Place Vendôme in Paris. Its first collection, called "Quai des Bergues," celebrated the first boutique; another collection celebrated that boutique in France. Now, the brand has reopened its Geneva boutique with a new look and is celebrating with a new watch from each collection. The newest Quai des Bergues "Midnight in Geneva" uses the brand's proprietary SXH1 hand-wound movement, cased in a mid-sized 40.5mm by 11.9mm stainless steel case with sandblasted, hollowed-out lugs. The watch is an impressive bit of watchmaking in a really elegant form. The watch has a power reserve indicator, weekday indicator, and subsidiary seconds, but the power reserve is a massive 7 days. The elegance comes in part from a beautiful dark blue aventurine dial with silver powder-coated steel Fleur-de-Lys hands, printed elongated Roman numerals, and a chemin de fer outer track. The watch, with a 50-meter water resistance, is limited to 18 pieces and retails for $28,600. The Place Vendôme Complicité Glacier Blue is a new treatment for the brand's open-worked double-escapement watch created in collaboration with Bernhard Lederer. While the previous watch was technically impressive but visually reserved, the Place Vendôme Complicité puts complexity at the forefront. The watch fe...

The Petrolhead Corner - Porsche Versus Porsche, a Very Personal Take on the Cayenne Turbo Electric & Macan GTS

My pre-assumption about EVs is that they’re like battery-powered watches. That means they are of no interest to me. Yet, when Porsche asked me to join them in the south of France and have a drive in their latest EV that packs more than 1,000 horsepower, I was curious anyway and joined them for a […]