DÉDALE: history of a French pilot watch brand founded in Toulouse
From mythology to horology
ORIGINS OF DÉDALE
MYTHOLOGICAL FIGURE,
Dédale (french for Daedalus) symbolizes imagination, ingenuity, finesse in creativity and embodies the oldest dream of mankind: to fly.
Designer and director of the first wings, he offered his son Icarus and himself the promise of liberty.
An early pioneer of flight, a mechanic and the pilot of his own escape, he challenged the limits of his time.
The fine, precise gears of a mechanical movement echo the labyrinth he famously designed.
At DÉDALE, we carry on this legacy of ambition, ingenuity and the pursuit of excellence. From this visionary who dared to defy the sky, the brand draws its founding values: courage, independence and liberty.
It's a first flight, a call to liberty.
a course of purpose
At the controls of the project, Bastian BACQUIÉ
From aviation culture ...
Born under the blue skies of Toulouse (France) in 1988, Bastian has always been fascinated by mechanics, that synchronization of elements that brings ideas to life.
Inspired by his father, an aviator who went on to become a writer and aviation historian, it was only natural that he began his career as an aircraft mechanic more than fifteen years ago. He worked his way up the ranks, becoming a workshop manager and then an executive at a general aviation maintenance center.
To fulfill his dream and enjoy the liberty the sky offers, he earned his private pilot’s certificate in 2017, allowing him to share his passion with his loved ones while integrating it into his daily professional life.
His skills earned him the opportunity to participate, as a volunteer mechanic and pilot, in several Raids Latécoère-Aéropostale. This epic journey, linking Toulouse (France) to Dakar (Senegal), echoed the spirit of a pioneering era - the one in which Pierre G. Latécoère had established the Aéropostale route more than a century ago. These adventures, punctuated by breathtaking landscapes, solidarity and human projects, were punctuated by impromptu mechanical repairs in the middle of nowhere.
... To a horological vocation
At the same time, he was captivated by the fascinating world of horology, a passion also passed down to him by his father. Ever curious, Bastian began taking his watches apart to discover the mesmerizing inner workings of their mechanics.
Accustomed to an aerospace maintenance environment where every action follows precise procedures, he felt the need to find a space where his creativity could fully express itself, with the ambition of creating pieces that would combine his high standards and aspirations. This led him to take on the challenge of designing his own watches. Horology would henceforth become the setting for an endless creative pursuit. While his first creations were satisfying, he soon found himself confronted with the limitations of amateur practice, which proved too restrictive (see example opposite).
But it was too late: the world of watchmaking, with its creativity, precision, attention to detail, and finesse of execution, had completely captivated him.
« I've gone over all the calculations again[...], our idea is unfeasible, there's only one thing left us to do : make it happen »
Pierre G. Latécoère
It took several years to refine the design of the ideal watch, a development period born of intense research into watchmaking past and present.
A vision then took shape: to design functional and reliable watches, combining the best components on the market with an aesthetic faithful to the codes shaped by decades of history - reimagined and adapted to today’s needs. This approach is guided by the rigor and high standards characteristic of the aerospace industry, with quality as the absolute priority.
In early 2023, Bastian set out on his own: he left his career in aviation to launch his own watch brand, devote himself fully to it, and finance it entirely with his own capital.
This adventure - both exhilarating and demanding - took root in his hometown, driven by a desire to carry out as many stages of the process as possible in France, staying true to his values and identity.