Inventors · 1747 – 1823
Abraham-Louis Breguet
Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747–1823), a Swiss-born watchmaker working in Paris, is often called the greatest watchmaker who ever lived. He invented the tourbillon (patented 1801), made the first known wristwatch, and built watches for Marie Antoinette and Napoleon.
Key facts
| Lived | 1747 – 1823 |
|---|---|
| Born | Neuchâtel, Switzerland |
| Worked | Paris, France |
| Inventions | Tourbillon (1801), Breguet overcoil, self-winding 'perpétuelle' |
| First known wristwatch | Ordered 1810 for Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples |
Watchmaker to a queen
Breguet moved to France as a teenager and opened his workshop in Paris in 1775. His watches were thin, elegant and technically brilliant, and his clients included Queen Marie Antoinette. In 1783 an admirer, said to be a member of her guard, ordered a watch for her with every complication then known. The "Marie Antoinette" watch, No. 160, took 44 years to finish. The queen was executed in 1793, and Breguet himself had died by the time it was completed in 1827.
Beating gravity
A watch keeps slightly different time depending on how it's held, because gravity pulls on its balance. Breguet's solution, the tourbillon, mounts the balance and escapement in a tiny rotating cage so the errors average out. He patented it in 1801, and it's still the most admired complication in fine watchmaking. He also designed the "Breguet" hands with hollow moon-shaped tips and a curved balance spring, the Breguet overcoil, both still used today.
The first wristwatch
In 1810 Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples and Napoleon's sister, ordered a watch to be worn on a bracelet. Delivered in 1812, it's the first wristwatch on record, about a century before men started wearing them. The Breguet company still exists, now part of the Swatch Group.
Read more: Who invented the watch? 50 inventions · the full story of the watchmakers
Questions people ask
What did Breguet invent?
The tourbillon (1801), the Breguet overcoil balance spring, the self-winding 'perpétuelle' watch and the first known wristwatch, among many others.
How long did the Marie Antoinette watch take?
44 years: ordered in 1783 and finished in 1827, after both the queen and Breguet had died.
Sources
Last updated October 18, 2026. Found an error? Tell us.