Abraham-Louis Breguet, born in Neuchâtel, then a Prussian principality, was a horologist who made many innovations in the course of a career in watchmaking in France. In his lifetime he was considered the leading watchmaker of his day, and he built up a clientele that included many leading public figures and members of the European nobility.
Alongside his friend and contemporary John Arnold, Breguet is now widely acknowledged as one of the greatest horologists of all time. One of his famous ancestors was Jean Breguet a Protestant pastor in Neuchâtel very much influenced by the ideas of John Calvin.
He is the founder of the Breguet company, which is now the luxury watch division of the Swiss Swatch Group.