PERRELET 1777

Abraham-Louis Perrelet
Ever since its founding, Perrelet has consistently innovated in the field of horology, displaying an audacity firmly rooted in its DNA and its values. The inventor of the self-winding watch almost 250 years ago, Perrelet has faithfully cultivated its pioneering, avant-garde spirit as well as impressive mastery of its timepiece developments. Key values such as rigorous technical standards as well as extreme precision are placed in the service of a vision: that of perpetuating the watchmaking legacy of the brand’s legendary founder, Abraham-Louis Perrelet, as well as his successors such as Louis Frédéric Perrelet.

1729 - Creative Genius
Birth of Abraham-Louis Perrelet in Le Locle, a Swiss village in the mountains of Neuchâtel. Fascinated by watchmaking professions, as a teenager he devotes himself to the construction of a certain number of precision instruments. The mastery of his art, his renowned skills and creative genius would make him one of the greatest watchmaking references of all time.

1777 - Automatic Movement
From the 1770s onwards, Abraham-Louis Perrelet applies himself to perfecting a system which, from one single initial impulse, would continue to function indefinitely. It was in 1777 that he develops his completely revolutionary invention – the self-winding or automatic movement. To this very day nobody has managed to improve on this to give life to mechanical calibers and his invention continues to make its mark on watchmaking history.

1780 - First Pedometer
Abraham-Louis Perrelet develops the first pedometer and also becomes the first person to create watches with a cylinder, duplex, calendar and equation escapements. He works on further refining gear trains and improving pinions, gears, the escapement as well as his unique automatic winding mechanism.

1781 - Independent Watchmaker
Heir to his grandfather’s watchmaking genius, Louis-Frédéric Perrelet is born in 1781. Demonstrating a predisposition for mechanics and mathematics, he is trained by his grandfather prior to moving to Paris to study in Breguet’s workshops. Thanks to his talent, he rapidly proves his skill as an independent watchmaker.

1823 - Intelligent Watches
His growing interest in astronomy, physics and science leads Louis-Frédéric Perrelet to design so-called “intelligent” watches. An astronomical clock designed in 1815 and presented at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1823 results in him becoming watchmaker-mechanic to three French kings.

1827 - Chronograph Counter
At the Exhibition of Products of French Industry, he presents a chronograph counter for physics and astronomy with flyback hand. This model, for which a patent is officially registered in March 1828, earns him a medal from the Académie des Sciences in 1830.

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