Founder: In 1747, the founder
of Breguet was born, Abraham-Louis Breguet. He founded the company in 1775 in Paris. He received his funding from the dowry of his
bourgeois bride. His success started when King Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette
were astounded by his watches and purchased several of them and ever since
then, the Breguet company has flourished.
Country: Paris,
France.
History: The Breguet company
was founded in 1775 in Paris, France. Nearly as soon as the company had started, they reached a
technological breakthrough. The company created the first self-winding watch
within 5 years of operation. During the French Revolution, Breguet relocated to
Switzerland. When he came back to Paris in 1799, he had five new inventions, one of which was
the carriage clock that was sold to Napoleon Bonaparte. Nearly every couple of
years, Breguet would make breakthroughs in the field of horology and in 1812
completed the first wristwatch for the queen of Naples at the time. Due to his astounding achievements and
creation of excellent timepieces for the military and navy he was awarded the
Legion of Honor by Louis XVIII. 1823 was the year of Breguet's death, but his
spirit of innovation would not be lost. Within 7 years of his death, the first
keyless winding watch was created. From 1901 to 1930 there was little
innovation from the company because of WWI. From 1939 to 1972 the company was
hit by WWII and other military actions. In 1976 the company moved to Switzerland and is officially based there now. The company
continued to make astounding achievements and numerous exquisite models. In
1999, Nicholas Hayek took over the company and still upholds the innovative
spirit to this day. Many pieces and artifacts of the company are now in the
Louvre as of 2009.
Famous Patrons: King Louis
XVIII, Marie-Antoinette, Napoleon Bonaparte, Tsar Alexander I, George
Washington, Winston Churchill and Leo Tolstoy.
Timeline &
Accomplishments:
• 1775 → Breguet
was founded in Paris
• 1780 → The first
self-winding watch was created and impressed King Louis XVI
• 1786 → Breguet
created the first guilloche dial
• 1789 → The first
escapement that did not use oil was created and known as the Breguet key • 1796 → Breguet
created the first single-handed watch.
• 1801 → Breguet
ingenuity patented the tourbillon regulator
• 1810 → Breguet
thought up and began designing the worlds first wristwatch
• 1998 → Worlds
smallest self-winding chronograph movement was created in the Marine line
chronographs. • 2003 → Breguet
patented the watch Le Réveil du Tsar, which featured a mechanism that could
coordinate the alarm with local time