History of Abraham Louis Breguet - Research Paper

Introduction

Abraham Louis Breguet was born in the 10th of January 1747 in Neuchatel Switzerland to Jonas Louis Breguet and Suzanne Breguet. It was his fathers in the year 1758 that changed the part of the now world-famous horologist. Upon his father's death, his mother Suzanne got married to another man named Joseph Tattet. Abraham Breguet stepfather came from a family of watchmakers and was mainly based in Paris France. At first, the new family made efforts to teach young Breguet the trade involving watches and given they had some showrooms mainly based in Paris. However, this efforts bore no fruits as Abraham Breguet seemed not interested in the trade. However in the Abraham at a tender age of 15 eventually agreed to go for training through watching a master watch maker based in the Versailles.

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Despite not showing interest when being told to join the watchmaking career the teenage Abraham Breguet became the master watchmakers favorite when he portrayed exceptional intelligence and hard work in learning the trade. While taking the apprenticeship classes, he joined a mathematics class in the evening taught by abbe Marie who went on to mentor him and introduce to famous people including King Louis XVI of France. He designed important aster watches to the king a piece which pleased the king very much. Things went south when her parents died, and he was left alone to take of himself and his sister.

Few years later after completing his apprenticeship, Abraham Breguet was given the nod to marry and together with his wife formed the Breguet Company. In his watchmaking company Abraham Breguet introduced new mechanism that set him apart from other watchmakers and made him famous to date. Some of the mechanism that he used in designing his watches includes tourbillon, automatic winding, innovative escapements and the over the coil. His prowess in the making of watches enabled him to meet with famous people especially the political elite who became fascinated by his works. The relationship he had with his workers gave him the opportunity to learn new ways of dealing with people and was at one responsible for rescuing a king from being lynched by a crowd of people. Breguet also was a kind man and a huge sense of humor something that allowed him to showcase his watches to famous people from France all the way to England. Breguet during his lifetime made a series of watches that attracted the attention of elite rulers but one that was the queen Marion Antoinette watch. The queen was very much interested in the works of Abraham Breguet.

Mario Antoinette Pocket Watch

Breguet was one of the most renowned watchmakers of his day, and this is evident in the number of masterpieces he created during his time which includes napoleon Balzac and Pushkin. However, it was the queen of that time Marie Antoinette who made him make the most complicated watch that is a considered a masterpiece to date. This piece took a lot of time, and it was not completed till both the queen and Abraham Breguet passed on.

The story of the Marie Antoinette watch is a complicated one, and many controversial versions have been released on what led to the making of this particular piece. The Marie Antoinette pocket watch is 60mm in diameter and encased in an 18-carat gold covered by a crystal rock showcasing the prowess involved in the making of this pocket watch. Another thrilling fact about this watch is that it comprises of over 800 parts with many parts made of different metals including sapphire on the outside and the inner parts made of brass of gold and brass. Below is a picture of Marie Antoinette pocket watch.

The inception of this particular watch began in 1783 when the alleged lover of the queen Count Axel Von Fersen made an order to Abraham Breguet to specifically make this watch. The alleged lover suggested the watch to be made should be unique and comprise the most spectacular features ever seen in a pocket watch regardless of the cost. The order was made specifically to Abraham Breguet because the queen was very much in love with his watchmaking prowess and was at most times a regular customer of his watches. This interest in watches by the queen is watch made other royal family member such as the king and his aides to buy many pieces from the most innovative watchmaker. As a watchmaker, Abraham Breguet was also very good at making unique designs. His ability to make watches that exhibit unique movements inside the watch resembling those within the cathedral clock. In his watches, Breguet used crystal clock to allow the user to view the movement of different gears that are present within the watch.

The making of the pocket watch was done in around 44 years as its inception coincided with the French revolution leading to the death of the man who placed the order and Marie Antoinette who faced the guillotine. The two did not live to see the watch, and during her time in prison, she got a simple Breguet watch model which he held while being executed at the guillotine ("The Incredible Story Behind Breguet's Marie Antoinette Watch - First Class Watches Blog"). The queens beheading did not deter Abraham Breguet from completing this pocket watch meant for Marie Antoinette.

Abraham Breguet continued making this masterpiece until his demise in 1823. In the masterpiece, it is believed that Abraham Breguet included a total of 23 complicated mechanisms that run the Marie Antoinette pocket watch. Some of the notable mechanisms includes the perpetual calendar, display of solar time versus the meantime, self-winding mechanism, a reporter that chimes at the top of the hour, a quarter an hour minutes indicator, shock absorber, thermometer, and a power reserve indicator. The use of sapphire used in the watch was meant to reduce friction.

Upon his death, his son who was also a talented horologist took over the making of the watch and eventually completed this masterpiece in 1827. The watch which was named number 160 came out as the most complex timekeeper of its time is considered one of the best. This piece of work traveled in the hands of a nobleman and found its way to Britain to Sir David Salomon's collection but later handed the watch to his daughter who was a practicing nurse. Years late after the World War 1 the daughter with the money from her father's inheritance frequently flew to Palestine to engage in charitable activities meant to promote the Jewish Arab understanding. In Palestine Vera, the daughter of Salomon met with Leo Arya Mayer who was a notable professor of Islam art and architecture. Leo Mayer was a good friend of Vera and soon became her mentor, but many believe that he was a lover too (Kirsta). The death of Mayer in 1959 led to Vera founding the museum in honor Leo Aryeh Mayer. And even named it after him. The museum was bequeathed with the famous timepieces of her father's collection including the Marie Antoinette clock watch before she passed on in 1969.

It was the disappearance of the watch in 1983 that sparked a lot of controversies given that it was on display with other collections of watches. The mysterious disappearance of the watch was disappointing to people who were fascinated with the masterpiece. Various investigations by the police and even private investigators yielded nothing the watch lovers had to keep the watch only in their minds. Marie Antoinette pocket watch disappearance led to the questioning of the museum security, and the employee became the only suspects given that all avenues had been exhausted with regards who had eloped with the watch (Kirsta).

Modern Day

Despite the disappearance of one of the most sophisticated watches what came out was the fact that Breguet Company continued with its operations until it was bought in 1999. Nicolas G Hayek was a man who became obsessed with the Breguet watches and getting the knowledge about the Marie Antoinette made him realize that this pocket watch made for the queen 100 years ago was a crucial piece for the company and it could not be complete without it in their collections ("Hands-On: The Breguet Number 1160, A Replica Of The Famous Watch Made For Marie Antoinette - HODINKEE").

This obsession with the watch considered the best made prompted the CEO to suggest the making of its replica. The replica of the most important piece made by Abraham Breguet was a dream come true to the president of the Breguet house. In 2008 was when the replica of the watch considered the remarkable replica of the original was identified as 1160 and today this piece is a product of the advances made in making watches. This reproduction showcases the ambition of Nicolas Hayek to produce the complete the project to explain that this was not in any way an obsession to watch but rather a superb way of reintroducing the watch to the admirers ("Hands-On: The Breguet Number 1160, A Replica Of The Famous Watch Made For Marie Antoinette - HODINKEE").

In the modern day, the Breguet company holds a very special place in the history of watchmaking based on the advances they have made referring to its founder who is considered a remarkable horologist. The original order for making the watch was out of love, but this modern piece came to be because the lost modern watch was to highlight Breguet life work and to portray the mechanical fascination in the watch.

1160 was launched with the news that the original Marie Antoinette watch had been recovered and already in a museum in Jerusalem by an anonymous person. 1160 was in many ways similar to the 160 based on the many complications that were used in making up of the watch. Just like the 160 the Breguet 1160 had the perpetual calendar, thermometer, power reserve indicator and other mechanisms that make it an outstanding watch of the modern day. Below is a picture of 1160 watch.

1160 pocket watch masterpiece is so amazing, and one can easily appreciate the impressive prowess use in the designing and making of this piece. According to Nicholas Hayek, the piece was rewarding both emotionally and intellectually, and he believes this pursuit of perfection will encourage other in future to focus more even at the smallest pieces.

Further, the Breguet company today is still working tirelessly to ensure that the idea of its founder is still manifested through the improvement in various areas of horology. This includes coming up with the new types of watches that continuously serves the various field. One of the notable watches the Breguet has introduced in the modern day is the travel watch which automatically switches to different time zones at the press of a button. The modern-day Breguet also focused on using high-level frequency to enhance the performance of various formats of watches through use of the light oscillators mainly made of silicon. Silicon has proven to a very important in watchmaking given that it is very light and contains some anti-magnetic properties. This antimagnetic property allows preventing the watch facing mechanical issues while oscillating and keeping time. One of the benefits of silicon is that it eliminates wear, minimize background noise while also making sure the watch functions very well.

The many innovations have shaped horology in many ways by Breguet company with the recent one being the use of materials with magnetic components. The creations of the watches by Breguet display the advancement of the watchmaking prowess since the creation of the masterpiece by Marie Antoinette and indicates how technology is eventually shaping this industry.

Many of the advancement in today watches is due to the perfection that results from the mistakes that previous watches exhibited. This includes improving the mechanism of the watches by minimizing tear through the use of materials that are light and suitable for this timekeepers. Today, however, the making of a mechanical is slowly losing pace with many consid...