For its 30th birthday, the French brand Péquignet is presenting a mechanical watch in a series of 30 pieces, and is changing its location at the Basel Fair.
Thirty years old! Now that calls for a celebration. The French creator and watchmaker, Emile Péquignet has chosen the Basel Fair to commemorate the brand's thirty years, having founded the enterprise himself in 1973. Headquartered in Morteaux, near the Swiss border, this independent company is in the top echelon of watch brands in France.

A better placed stand
To mark the occasion, Péquignet is moving to a new stand, larger and better situated on the main floor at the Basel show. For many years now, it has been the only brand along with Alain Silberstein to have enjoyed a stand in the same area as the 'grand' players in the watch industry. This year, however, Péquignet is moving a few metres away. “The stand will be better positioned since it will be open to three corridors rather than just two as we have had in the past. It will be larger and will also have an additional floor,” explains Emile Péquignet. “We are changing our image as we pass into our third decade,” he adds.

A series of thirty watches
Péquignet is not content to merely change location for the occasion. The company is also presenting a special model, an exceptional timepiece equipped with a skeleton automatic movement, gold dial and crocodile bracelet. “We are going to make thirty models that will be numbered to mark our anniversary. They will cost 10,000 euros,” explains the watchmaker.
Among the other new items this year, the brand will equip various models with a rubber bracelet presented last year on its Moorea chronograph. It is easily identifiable with its particular type of link. “We want to made chic sports watches,” declares Péquignet. The retail prices for these pieces will be between 1,500 euros for the watches and 2,000 euros for the chronographs.

A silver lining
The French brand began moving up in range at the beginning of the 1990s. “We made a big jump at that time, when we discontinued using gold-plate,” says Péquignet. The brand's watches today are all assembled in Switzerland and proudly carry the label 'Swiss Made'. “It was not easy in the beginning,” he remembers, “since people knew us better for watches with lower price tags.”
Last year, the enterprise had “a good year at the Basel Fair and we accomplished a lot.” Even if the economic situation was responsible for 'lowered results' when spread out over the entire year. Today, during the Iraq crisis, the situation seems to be blocked somewhat everywhere in the world. The watchmaker nonetheless sees a silver lining. “The current situation is forcing us to find new solutions.”
Péquignet's main market is France, which accounts for 30% of sales. It also saw a dramatic rise in sales in Japan in 2002. “This increase should continue this year,” smiles Emile Péquignet who has just returned from this island nation.