French watchmaking: The lesser-known brands to watch in 2027

Théo Auffret, SpaceOne, Trilobe, Beaubleu, Mathieu Cleguer, Akrone, and Pequignet: far from the mainstream headliners, these independent French watchmakers and boutique brands are making waves among collectors and at the GPHG.

When it comes to French watchmaking, the same names always come up: Cartier, Breguet, Yema, Baltic. Yet, around a hundred brands and some 3,000 jobs make up the industry today, according to the organizers of the inaugural Semaine de la Montre Française (French Watch Week), which took place from October 31 to November 8. Behind the headliners, a new generation of watchmakers and boutique brands is making waves among collectors, sometimes reaching all the way to Geneva. Here are the ones you need to know before everyone else.

Théo Auffret, the Parisian prodigy

Born in 1995, trained at the Edgar Faure high school in Morteau and then alongside watchmaker Jean-Baptiste Viot, Théo Auffret made a name for himself with his Tourbillon à Paris, which earned him the F.P. Journe Young Talent Competition award, as he shared with The Hour Glass. His watches are handmade in extremely limited quantities. The market has clearly recognized his talent: according to Watchonista, a prototype of his Giverny, a simple 36 mm three-hand watch, sold for CHF 571,500 at auction in May 2026. He also designed the jumping-hour module for the Seconde Majeure, the collaboration between Baltic and SpaceOne, whose charcoal-finished dials are crafted in his workshop, as noted by Time and Watches.

SpaceOne, award-winning at the GPHG

SpaceOne, the Parisian brand led by Guillaume Laidet and co-founded by Théo Auffret, specializes in displays unlike anything else on the market. This year, in partnership with Baltic, they released the Seconde Majeure, a jumping-hour watch priced at €2,500 for the brushed version and €3,500 for the charcoal version, available exclusively during a six-day order window in May.

In early November, the watch won the Challenge Prize at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève. For a brand that is still relatively confidential, this is a major milestone.

Trilobe, the manufacture reborn in Paris

Founded in 2018 by Gautier Massonneau, Trilobe displays the time using three rotating rings, without any hands. But its true distinction lies elsewhere: the brand has opened its own workshop in Paris, where it designs and assembles its X-Nihilo caliber. According to SJX, 80% of its components are manufactured in the Île-de-France region, making it arguably the first Parisian brand in decades to establish production on this scale. The Trente-Deux starts at around €17,500 excluding tax, according to Very Good Lord, while the Château Trente-Deux, introduced at Geneva Watch Days, draws inspiration from wine and terroir, as reported by The Hour Glass.

Beaubleu, time in circles

Another Parisian brand reinventing how we read time, Beaubleu has replaced traditional hands with circular ones that rotate around the dial. In 2026, the brand made a major impact with La Pièce, a collection born from a collaboration with the Monnaie de Paris, one of the world's oldest coin-minting institutions. For the first time, according to Europa Star, coin-minting expertise was applied to watch dials, which were struck in a single piece at the workshops on the Quai de Conti. The two models are limited to 888 pieces per color and priced at €1,790 on leather or €1,890 on a Milanese mesh bracelet, according to Monochrome. A truly unique French watch at a very accessible price point.

Mathieu Cleguer, the Breton engineer in Geneva

Based in Geneva, this French watchmaker of Breton origin launched his brand in April 2026 with the Inspiration One, a watch built around an escapement of his own design, which SJX described as both ingenious and original. A few months later, the watch won the Complication Watch Prize at the GPHG, competing against century-old manufactures. With production limited to just a few dozen pieces and a price tag of around CHF 95,000 according to Fratello, it is aimed at the most discerning collectors. In a similar vein, Simon Brette, another Frenchman in Geneva, has seen allocations for his Chronomètre Artisans stretch all the way to 2028, according to Watchonista.

Akrone and Pequignet, regional expertise

Away from the spotlight, other brands are championing more accessible French watchmaking. In Nantes, Akrone, founded in 2015 by Jean-François Kerboul and Erwan Kerneur, has built a reputation with military watches custom-designed for the armed forces, and was one of the first brands to adopt the new France Ébauches movements in late 2023, according to its own website.

In Morteau, Pequignet manufactures its Initial caliber using components sourced within an 80 km radius, with 72% of French origin, and has certain watches certified by the Besançon Observatory rather than the Swiss COSC, as detailed by Very Good Lord.

Key takeaways

These brands all share one thing in common: they produce in small quantities, and their watches are often sold out before they are even delivered. This is precisely what makes their trajectory so interesting to follow, especially regarding the value of their timepieces. The sale of Théo Auffret's Giverny demonstrates that an independent French watchmaker can now command prices that were, until recently, reserved for the biggest Swiss names. These brands are not yet listed in the Osterman Watch index, as the secondary market is not yet deep enough, but we will be closely monitoring their auction results in the Journal.