Behind the scenes at Breitling’s new Then & Now pop-up museum

For the first time, Breitling is opening the doors on a dedicated showcase of its history: the Then & Now pop-up museum at Rennweg 14-16 in Zurich. Founding family member Gregory Breitling was there for the late August inauguration, along with Breitling CEO Georges Kern, and Global Head of Heritage Gianfranco Gentile. Professional explorers, pilots, and politicians were also in the mix.

With more than 80 vintage timepieces on display, the pop-up museum is undeniably aimed at those who love watches and all things Breitling. But there are also some exciting surprises, like a flight simulator, serious artifacts of adventure, and even a scavenger hunt for kids.

There’s also a motion-sensor-controlled watchmaking workshop for those eager to geek out on the gears that make the chrono go round and discover the secrets of the Breitling Manufacture Caliber 01. For the après-exhibit crowd, the onsite Breitling Café serves up drinks and a full menu drawn from locally sourced ingredients.

Senior guide Patrick Hofstetter gave Since 1884 a tour and some behind-the-scenes insight into what this new homage to Breitling’s heritage is all about.

“I see many people who have some idea about Breitling, but they are completely surprised by how rich this history is,” he says on the museum’s ground floor.

Scott Carpenter’s Swiss Cosmonaute, the first wristwatch in space

Standing beside the first Swiss wristwatch in space, which NASA astronaut Scott Carpenter wore on his 1962 orbital mission, it’s not hard to see what Hofstetter means. While Carpenter’s watch was left looking like a planetary landscape due to an off-course splashdown that damaged the dial, it’s far from the only piece of history in the new pop-up museum.

Hofstetter says, “We have so many stories to tell, it’s mind blowing.”

Divided into Breitling’s three universes of Air, Land, and Sea, and with what Breitling’s heritage team refers to as the “Time Tunnel,” an interactive timeline in the basement, Then & Now offers three packed floors spanning more than a century of watchmaking innovation.

From celebrities to the original influencer

At the entrance to the pop-up museum, large light box photos of Miles Davis, Raquel Welch, and Serge Gainsbourg wearing their Breitlings welcome visitors in high style. On the top floor, guests can take a beach break in a lounge dedicated to the surf community and brand ambassador, 11-time world surfing champion Kelly Slater.

Though Breitling never abandoned its origins as a maker of purposeful tool watches, there were eras when the brand also cornered the market on fashion-forward designs. Willy Breitling, the last member of the family to head the company, took great inspiration from his marriage to the glamorous cabaret performer, Beatrice Breitling.

Gianfranco G. M. Gentile, Global Head of Heritage, explained at the pop-up museum’s opening, “Women’s watches in general, especially the elaborate cocktail watches from the ’40s and ’50s, are one of the underplayed aspects of Breitling’s historic catalog. Personally, I found this surprising because I did not know the extent of the offerings. A catalogue of the 1950s features more than 50 of these references!”

Hofstetter is also a fan of this era, gesturing to the display of Premier chronographs. His favorite Breitling collection, which he proves by showing the one on his wrist, was once described by Willy Breitling as “the unmistakable stamp of impeccable taste.” It was the chrono that took Breitling from wartime tool watch manufacturer to a symbol of postwar elegance—or, as the display puts it, “From purpose to style.”

First wristwatch with an international distress beacon

Whether purpose or style, Breitling is forever innovating.

In 1999, Breitling backed Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones’ captivating round-the-world Orbiter 3 balloon flight. Departing from the Swiss Alps with Breitling’s Emergency watch on their wrists and landing in Egypt nearly 20 days later, Piccard and Jones’ record-setting odyssey made the cover of National Geographic.

There’s a piece of the Orbiter 3 balloon in the pop-up museum to touch. Piccard himself was photographed placing his hand on this blast-from-the-past at the opening. Beside it, the original special-edition Orbiter 3 version of the Emergency watch made to commemorate the record-setting journey.

The Emergency was a passion project of former Breitling owner Ernest Schneider. Discussion with a NATO officer in the 1980s sparked a yearslong effort to construct a timepiece with a worldwide emergency transmitter. Later worn by spies and adventurers, the Emergency features a dual-frequency distress beacon and was aptly nicknamed, “The watch that saves lives”.

Even the Breitling Café tells a story

If, after your visit you want to further read up on Breitling history, the new anniversary book, Breitling: 140 Years in 140 Stories, is available at the gift shop, along with vintage style Breitling-branded jackets, duffel bags, and baseball caps.

There’s also the Breitling Café, perfect for reflection after taking it all in. Our guide Hofstetter raves about the Club Burger, while Gentile has been known to post the colorful Premier Salad to Instagram when he lunches at the café between frequent trips abroad as part of the traveling Time Capsule exhibit, making its way through Breitling boutiques around the world during this 140th anniversary year.

Mid-century Breitling ads also adorn the walls, running the gamut from hyper-realistic pencil sketches to abstract art that’s downright bizarre—such as the pair of bodiless human legs representing the march of time.

“The ads are so nicely made and tell so many stories,” Hofstetter says as our Since 1884 tour winds down. “Even today with Instagram, it’s impossible to recreate.”

Breitling’s Then & Now pop-up museum is open now until?Spring 2025.?

Find out more and book your complimentary visit.