THE SYMPOSIUM OF BREITLING — LIVE NOW
THE SYMPOSIUM OF BREITLING — LIVE NOW Brand Legacy, Community and the Future of Watch Culture, by Georges Kern, CEO House of Brands. #Piaget #SiamParagonBangkokWatchWeek2026 #BangkokWatchWeek2026
CEO, House of Brands (Breitling parent group); former Breitling CEO, Breitling SA
Search every verified Georges Kern interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Georges Kern, CEO of House of Brands, discussed the company's recent expansion and strategy in several September 2026 appearances. At a symposium in Bangkok, he addressed the current business environment, describing it as "extremely complicated" due to wars and political and economic instability, which he called the most complex period in his 30-year career. He also commented on the Chinese market, noting its large population and Breitling's historically limited presence there. In an interview about the revival of Gallet, a sister brand manufactured by Breitling, Kern explained that the brand targets a price segment between approximately CHF 2,500 and CHF 5,000, using Sellita movements. He stated that Gallet's history, including timing the Wright brothers' first flight, was a factor in acquiring the brand, and described its simple product structure and focus on straps and outdoor-oriented storytelling. In a separate conversation about the Navitimer B09 Tribute to Miles Davis, Kern mentioned plans for a new social club in Geneva and said the watch pays tribute to Davis and other musicians, including Serge Gainsbourg, who wore Breitling watches.
THE SYMPOSIUM OF BREITLING — LIVE NOW Brand Legacy, Community and the Future of Watch Culture, by Georges Kern, CEO House of Brands. #Piaget #SiamParagonBangkokWatchWeek2026 #BangkokWatchWeek2026
Gallet is back. Two hundred years after its founding, the historic Swiss watchmaker begins a new chapter as part of Breitling’s expanding House of Brands. Wei Koh sits down with Georges Kern to discuss Gallet’s revival, its place alongside Breitling and Universal Genève, and the strategy behind bringing an established name in aviation and chronograph watchmaking to a new generation. Manufactured by Breitling, Gallet occupies a more accessible segment of the Swiss mechanical watch market, with a core collection priced between approximately CHF 2,500 and CHF 5,000. Kern explains the thinking b…
Wei Koh sits down with Georges Kern for a conversation on the Breitling Navitimer B09 Chronograph 41 Tribute to Miles Davis. The watch pays tribute to one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, and to the Navitimer that Miles Davis famously wore in the 1960s. His original Breitling was a gold-plated Ref. 806 Mk5, known for its reverse-panda dial, serrated bezel and Twin Jet logo, worn with the effortless style that made Davis a cultural icon. The new Navitimer B09 Chronograph 41 Tribute to Miles Davis captures that spirit in a modern 41mm stainless steel execution, with a bla…
Universal Genève está de vuelta y Georges Kern nos revela el plan maestro detrás de su resurrección. En este programa, nos ...
We sit down at Breitling Tower in Hong Kong to talk about the bigger picture — what it actually means to build a House of Brands, where the watch industry stands after two years of turbulence, and a Watches and Wonders announcement that nobody saw coming. If you watched the Universal Genève deep dive, this is the other half of the conversation. Same trip, same day — but zooming out to the industry, the strategy, and what comes next for the whole House. This isn’t a brand presentation. It’s a real conversation.
Universal Genève is one of the most talked-about revivals in recent watchmaking history. I was a fan of the brand long before Breitling acquired it — so when I finally got to ask Georges Kern the questions the collector community actually wants answered, I didn’t hold back. In this segment, we go deep. The acquisition story, Le Couturier de la Montre, the Polerouter redesign challenge, the pricing debate, and what’s coming for Hong Kong. The day before this interview I spent the afternoon with the full collection for the first time. I placed my own order. Make of that what you will.
Wei Koh joins Breitling CEO Georges Kern to explore the latest evolution of the Chronomat — one of the defining luxury sports watches of the 1980s and ’90s. From the iconic Rouleaux bracelet and integrated micro-adjustment system to the new in-house B31 manufacture movement, Kern explains how Breitling has refined the Chronomat while preserving the bold character that made it a cultural phenomenon. The conversation also dives into the watch’s surprising connection to tennis culture, Hollywood and the growing revival of 1980s style. A nostalgic and insightful look at one of Breitling’s most…
Wei Koh sits down with Georges Kern in Geneva for an exclusive first look at the rebirth of Universal Genève. From the Polerouter ...
Wei Koh joins Breitling CEO Georges Kern in Geneva for an exclusive first look at the latest evolution of the Navitimer collection.
The announcement that Breitling (now House of Brands) had secured the rights to the dormant Universal Genève brand sent ...
Some executives manage brands. Georges Kern builds them. In this WatchAdvisor interview (in 4K), we sit down with the ...
"The U.S. remains a very wealthy country, we are very confident on the growth here in the U.S. and this is why we invest so much." Breitling CEO Georges Kern on NFL partnerships and tariffs.
“So um I know many people are talking about the crisis in China etc. I think we should all keep in mind that you still have 1.6 billion people living there. Okay, 1.6 billion people. Switzerland has a population of 8 million or let's say 9 million. So per C it's a gigantic market. Uh, number one. Number two, you might know and I explained that many years back that Brightling before we took over 7 8 years ago was not p”
“I would say two things. So obviously the environment in which we operate today is became extremely complicated. Okay. You wars, you have political instability, you have economic instability. So that's probably the most complex environment in my 30 years of career I've been working in. Okay, that's that's a fact and nobody knows nobody has a crystal ball to know if this will change or not. Okay. Um on the other side i”
“I don't think we have ever been in such a situation or I haven't been and I'm in this industry since 30 years. So not only you have an economic cool down um after well after COVID you had the re revenge buying and then you had the increase in in interest rates and the whole industry went down. You had the beginning of Ukraine war. Uh then you had all the problems with the tariffs. Then you you you have all the econom”
“I'm a believer in being reasonable in pricing. I don't believe in price increases for the sake of price increases. What happened at Breitling over the last couple of years is that we became 100% in-house movements with the B01 which is on in all the series and with the B31 which we launched at the beginning of this year. So we have a dramatic added value. So we went from a V4 to a V12 and people know that then accept”
“Quand vous êtes actionnaire, moi par exemple, je prends beaucoup plus de risque calculés que quand je suis employé dans un groupe. Parce que vous avez votre argent stake que vous risquez de perdre. Mais finalement quand j'étais dans un groupe, même si j'étais un des plus entrepreneurs parmi tous mes collègues, la seule chose que vous vous faites, vous essayez d'éviter les erreurs. Vous vous jouez défense, defense. Qu”
“The classic segmentation we had of the last decades, 100 years, where you said Christian, Muslim, Jewish or Asian or Caucasian or what have you, male, female, these are blurring... you have a kind of new communities, so you have and these are cross-gender, cross-country, cross-everything.”
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