Abraham-Louis Breguet leaves his home in Neuchâtel as a teenager, and heads for Versailles and Paris for a watchmaking apprenticeship. In 1775, he opens his workshop in the Ile de la Cité in Paris, with the help of Abbot Joseph-François Marie, who takes him under his wings and introduces young Breguet to the French Court. French aristocracy quickly become Breguet’s clientele. Forced to leave France during the dark hours of the Revolution, he returns in 1795 to rebuild his business.
The Bonaparte family is an extraordinary example of loyalty to Breguet's watches. Indeed, beginning with Napoleon, almost all members of the family were keen collectors of his creations. Napoleon was followed by Josephine in 1798 and 1800. She was to renew contact with the firm in 1806 and herself to be followed by her daughter, Queen Hortense in 1810 and 1812.