Imagine a parallel universe; Breguet was not born, Tourbillon, Split-Seconds Chronograph, and automatic movement never existed. Now, how dull is that? Abraham-Louis Breguet, who has brought watchmaking to its present form in his painful life, became eternal with the great legacy he left behind.
Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747-1823)
Abraham-Louis Breguet, the legendary watchmaker born in 1747 in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, is the owner of many groundbreaking inventions that have been used for 200 years such as the perpetual calendar and tourbillon. He is so respected among his peers that they call him "the Leonardo da Vinci of watchmaking". Breguet, who devoted himself to his job and innovation, is also among those who had to spend his life alone.
Breguet opened his eyes to the world as the first son of Jonas-Louis Breguet, a descendant of a well-known family who lived in the Neuchâtel region before the Protestant Reform. Breguet's mother, who lost her husband when her son was only 11 years old, later married a master-watchmaker. After his father's death, Breguet, who dropped out of school at the age of 14, decided to become a watchmaker and enrolled in a local watch school in Les Verrières. Abraham-Louis, who moved to Versailles, France to develop his watchmaking skills, studied in the fields of physics, optics, astronomy, and mechanical engineering from a cleric he was in contact with and benefited from this information for the rest of his life.
When the calendars showed 1775, he founded his own brand Breguet, in Quai de l'Horloge, Paris. That same year, he got married to Cécile Marie L'Huillier, who was a bourgeois. His first child, Antoine Louis, was born the following year. However, the happiness of the watchmaker did not last long. Breguet, who lost his second and third children from the disease, also lost his young wife at the age of 28 in 1780. The watchmaker, who was left with great sadness, never married again. Breguet, who put his shoulder to the wheel on these hard times, designed the 'Perpétuelle' after his long years of work. Perpétuelle was the turning point of his watchmaking career.
Abraham-Louis, who came up with a series of technologically and aesthetically innovative inventions in the following years, was praised by many important European personalities including King Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette. Although innovative regarding watchmaking, he drew attention with his opposition to scientific developments. Having become one of the most important figures in the history of watchmaking thanks to his curiosity and knowledge, Abraham-Louis Breguet continues to live with his works.
Perpetuelle Watch - 1780
