Michel Herbelin

Michel Herbelin founded his workshop in 1947 at Charquemont, a village in the French Jura a few miles from the Swiss border, in a region that had made watch parts for generations. The company is still run by his descendants and still assembles in Charquemont, which makes it one of the few French watch brands of any age to have stayed independent.

The Newport, introduced in the late 1980s and named after the Rhode Island sailing town, is what most people know it for: a nautical-styled watch with a distinctive articulated bracelet. It has been in the range ever since and accounts for a large share of what the company sells.

Michel Herbelin holds 19 models, from £135 to £405. Half cost less than £285, and a quarter less than £225. 2 of 19 are automatic. Prices are checked nightly against the retailers’ own feeds.

1947

Michel Herbelin founds the workshop at Charquemont

1988

The Newport is introduced and becomes the signature line