Breguet
The Breguet company was founded in Paris in 1775 by a watchmaker of genius, Abraham Louis Breguet, who was born in Neuchatel in 1747. Breguet set up his business concentrating on engineering at the expense of superfluous decoration, he sought to create a new style of watch in which beauty was purely functional and no concessions were made to fashion. This uncompromising style soon found the favor of all European courts. In terms of esthetics, the cases, at first plain, and later with engine-turned patterns, were noted for their balanced proportions and restrained style. The dials were in white enamel and painted with elegant distinctive Arabic numerals known as Breguet numerals. The engine-turned silver dials of the later watches have been retained to this day and are the distinctive mark of watches from the Breguet shops. On a technical level, among Breguet's inventions, the most important ones are the "pare-chute" shock absorber; the temperature-compensation curb on the balance spring index; the ruby cylinder known as over hanging the cylinder escapement, the "échappement naturel?: the constant force escapement; and most importantly, the "tourbillon" regulator, which ensured a steady rate irrespective of the position adopted by the watch. These inventions earned Breguet the title of father of Modern Horology. The renown of the Breguet company survived the death of its founder. For more than two centuries the name Breguet has stood for quality, elegance and distinction. In 1999, the Breguet company was purchased by the largest watch manufacturer in the world, the Swatch Group, and Nicolas G. Hayek, a legend of the modern Swiss Industry, has personally taken over the management of Breguet which, under his guidance, is undergoing one of the most impressive developments of its history.