Breitling B1 A68362

Breitling is the yeast extract-based spread of watchmaking. Some people can't get enough of them, others wouldn't even wear one on a bet, but either way we've all heard of the brand. Pre-quartz revolution, Breitling watches were the go-to tools of the experts, found on the wrists of pilots, engineers, scientists and even astronauts, but post-quartz revolution, well—let's just say that Breitling seems to have taken a little longer than most finding its groove.

The top news stories from all the best watchmakers in the world, including Audemars Piguet, Richard Mille and Breitling, plus we announce the winner of our Rolex Explorer competition prize.

Thanks to the Romans, Pope Gregory XIII, Jesus and of course the orbit of our home, Earth, we have a calendar system that is as concise and efficient as the English language itself. I can imagine that early watchmakers loathed the fripperies of our months, years and leap years when devising methods of recording and displaying the path of our journey through space, but thankfully they persisted in their endeavours, giving us today what we call the perpetual calendar. And despite the complexity of microchips and atomic clocks, we can still enjoy the hard work of previous generations in devising what just might be the most impressive complication ever to sit inside a watch.

From the great ancient Chinese and Arabic thinkers, to a cottage industry that transformed the fortunes of a post-reform Switzerland, watchmaking has transcended the development of technology like no other industry. With sales of premium Swiss watches increasing year on year, it's a trade that competes on a global scale, with 28.6 million units worth a staggering £13.8 billion leaving the landlocked confederation in 2014. It stands to reason then that the turnover of skilled watchmakers is following a similar boom, but the truth is contrary—the number of trained watchmakers has dropped by as much as 95% since the watchmaking heyday of the 1950s. It's a troubling time for the global watch industry, even if it remains unspoken, and something needs to be done. Tony Williams, former Breitling Head Watchmaker and current Watchfinder & Co. Head Watchmaker, talks watches, watchmaking and why we should all be more concerned about the quiet death of the skilled watchmaker.