Background
He became an apprentice in Versailles, France, in about 1762. During the French Revolution (1789-1799) he fled in 1792 to Switzerland, returning in 1794 to set up a workshop in Paris, where he died.
He became an apprentice in Versailles, France, in about 1762. During the French Revolution (1789-1799) he fled in 1792 to Switzerland, returning in 1794 to set up a workshop in Paris, where he died.
Breguet is credited with dozens of inventions, including improvements to the self-winding watch and the repeater mechanism, the shock absorber, and the tourbillon--a type of escapement that averages out errors of position. His famous spiral hairspring was soon used in most accurate watches. Among the notables for whom he made watches were Marie Antoinette, Napoleon Bonaparte, the Duke of Wellington, and Alexander I, tsar of Russia. Breguet also made marine chronometers, clocks for military and astronomical purposes, longcase clocks, and metallic thermometers. His pendule sympathique was an accurate clock that set and regulated a special watch for daily use.
Breguet was appointed official French nautical horologist in 1807 and was elected to the French Academy of Sciences in 1816. Many of his masterpieces are in public and private collections worldwide.