Swiss watch maker Breitling has been selling its products in Jacksonville for years at local jewelers in the area, but now it will do it under its own banner following a ribbon cutting ceremony and grand opening of the Breitling Boutique at St. Johns Town Center.
“We have stores in Florida, but we’ve always wanted to be in Jacksonville, and when we did our homework the place for us to open our watch store was in St. Johns Town Center,” Breitling USA President Thierry Prissert said. “It is a center that is in high demand, so we knew we wanted to be there. Jacksonville was the last spot in Florida that we didn’t have and its very dear to me to have it here.”
Once the location at 4751 River City Drive was chosen it took eight months to build the store.
Breitling created a fun VIP party atmosphere surrounding the grand opening and at the center of it all was Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who was on hand as a Breitling ambassador and helped cut the ribbon and kick off the event.
“What we want to do when we open a store is to be in touch with the community, so we’re very lucky because before we even had the store in Jacksonville, we had a relationship with Trevor Lawrence since he got drafted,” Prissert said.
Lawrence autographed footballs and mini helmets for those in attendance.
“I want to work with companies where I not only like their stuff, but where they are also good people as well,” Lawrence said. “After meeting Thierry and the whole team here, it confirmed that.”
Lawrence still has the original he bought from Breitling when their partnership began four years ago, but his collection continues to grow.
“For the most part I try to get watches that I can wear with just about anything, and that’s one of the great things about Breitling because they have so many watches that you can wear with any style,” Lawrence said.
Prissert remembers when he and the company first began developing a relationship with Lawrence.
“Although I did not know Trevor at first, he said he wanted to see some watches and when I saw what he picked out, I knew he had good taste,” Prissert chuckled.
With the Jacksonville location, Breitling now has more than 40 stores throughout the United States.
“The beautiful thing about a watch is that you don’t really need one, because you can read time on a lot of our instruments that we have today, but our watches are for people that want to celebrate something in their life and have a great souvenir for that moment,” Prissert said. “Our customers love having something on their wrist that has an element of class and aesthetic but can also be used as an instrument, because we had a few Navy pilots out here today that were wearing there’s.”
