BY HARLAN CHAPMAN-GREEN
Pequignet is a luxury watchmaker based in Morteau, France, situated right on the Swiss border. It was founded back in 1973 by Émile Pequignet and, to this day, remains an independent watchmaker, offering a fair few options for customisation. I find Pequignet interesting because I’ve seen their stand at Watches & Wonders Geneva every year I’ve gone, but we’ve never really spoken about them here on WristReview. Until now.
Pequignet also designs and builds its own calibres in-house where possible, and at Watches & Wonders Geneva in 2026, it introduces its fifth in-house-made movement, the Calibre Initial Chronograph, within its new Royale Paris Chrono watch. The Calibre Initial was introduced in 2021 as Pequignet shifted its focus to making its own movements. The Calibre Initial is a relatively thin self-winding movement with a 4Hz beat rate and a base power reserve of around 65 hours, perfect for building a chronograph into. Indeed, Pequignet’s new Calibre Initial Chronograph features a cam-actuated chronograph. Pequignet argues that this is good for its watch as, compared with a column wheel, they say the cam system is more robust and resistant to shocks. Not bad for their first go at making a chronograph movement themselves. Strangely, their press release doesn’t mention the power reserve, but I’d imagine it’s very similar to the 65 hours of the non-chronograph movement.
Pequignet does talk quite a bit about the finishing work that went into its new movement, including matte finishes contrasting satin-brushed finishes, perlage, and diamond-cut bevels. It contributes to the whole watch being really rather attractive. Bi-compax chronograph watches can suffer from being a bit plain, but Pequignet’s Royale Paris Chrono looks handsome. There are plenty of things happening on the dial, including the grained centre, which is raised above the cut-out ring where the applied hour markers are, and, outside of which, a tachymetre scale.
There are also those two subdials, which can be coloured red or blue. The case measures 39.5mm x 12.7mm and is made from 316L stainless steel with 50m of water resistance. The bracelet looks nice, too, completing the look of this watch and making it very interesting indeed. The price for one of these is €6,450 including tax, which isn’t too bad considering that Pequignet has made its own movement and has sourced the components it hasn’t made itself from within 80km of the manufacture in Morteau. They’re definitely a brand worth paying attention to.
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