Laurent Ferrier

Laurent Ferrier launched his watch brand with vast experience in the industry. He was born in Neuchâtel, Switzerland in 1946, also known as the birthplace of the great watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet. Laurent Ferrier spent his childhood surrounded by watches, as his father and grandparents were watchmakers – choosing a career as a watchmaker was natural for him. In 1968 he completed his studies at the École d’Horlogerie de Genève and joined Patek Philippe, where throughout his career he held a variety of positions including prototype-maker and chief developer of the exterior parts of the watch. However, driven by his passion for motorsport, he left Patek Philippe that same year to devote his time to his hobby, intending to turn it into a profession. In a way he succeeded, albeit much later – in the late 1970s, when he and his friend François Servanin won Le Mans in the 2-litre sports prototype category, and in another race, when he came third in the Le Mans overall standings in a Porsche 935. By then, in fact since 1974, he was back at Patek Philippe and stayed until 2009, when, at the age of 63, he founded his own watch brand with his son Christian and François Servanin.

The Galet Classic Tourbillon Double Spiral, Laurent Ferrier’s inaugural watch, was presented at Baselworld in 2010. The premiere was highly appreciated by the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève jury that year, who awarded it the Men’s Watch prize. From the very beginning, Laurent Ferrier has focused on a classic traditionalist style, with the design of the external components inspired by 19th century pocket watches. The exquisite workmanship of the watch is consistent with the high-end finishing of the movement parts performed by traditional techniques and the predominant use of manual work. The start of the brand was very dynamic, achieving great recognition in the Far East market. However, the brand retains its specialty as a collector’s watch manufacturer, with a small annual production never exceeding 200 pieces, according to hodinkee.com.

After the inaugural Galet Classic Tourbillon Double Spiral (2010) and the Galet Micro-Rotor of 2011, Laurent Ferrier introduced the Galet Classic Traveller in 2013, with a second time zone indicator, followed in 2015 by the premiere of the Galet Square Micro-Rotor. The development of a new hand-wound caliber LF126.01 featuring a power reserve indicator on the back led to the launch in 2017 of the Galet Annual Calendar Montre École, the brand’s first complicated calendar watch. A modification of the caliber LF126.01 became the basis for the launch of BridgeOne shaped watches in 2019. One of the latest notable premieres, the Grand Sport Tourbillon steel sports watch on an integrated bracelet, was introduced in 2020. This preceded the Sport Auto watch with a Micro-Rotor self-winding caliber.