Breitling SA was founded in Saint-Imier, Bernese Jura by Léon Breitling in 1884.[1] Léon Breitling passed away in 1914, passing the business on to his son Gaston.
Ernst Schneider bought the company from the founding Breitling family in 1979 and it was owned by the Schneider family until 2017. Ernst's son, Theodore Schneider, sold the majority stake (80%) in Breitling to CVC Capital Partners for over $870m. The Schneider family still retains 20% control of Breitling.[2] Historically, Breitling sourced movements from suppliers such as Valjoux, ETA, and Venus rather than producing movements in-house. In 2009 Breitling developed the B01, an in-house self-winding, column wheel chronograph movement, used in the Breitling Chronomat 01 and subsequently Navitimer 01.[3]
wikipedia
