Breguet: Art and Innovation in Watchmaking

[grsnovi]

I recently purchased this and thought I'd put up some thoughts. 176 pages with 75 or so full-page, highly detailed color photographs of various Breguet pieces that were show in an exhibition held at the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco. Perhaps I should have paid more and gotten the George Daniels book on the same topic which is slightly larger and double the page count.

This one has a some introductory material discussing watches during the late 1600's through the early 1800's, a biography of Abraham-Louis Breguet as well as an interesting  accounting of his various customers.

I had hoped there would be more technical coverage of some of his engineering but the book focuses on the external design (what you would have seen at the exhibit). I can't say that I was disappointed and I may yet get the Daniels book.

 

[KarlvonKoln]

I, also, should track down a good book that covers more of the engineering that A.L. Breguet devised.  The man was an horological genius, and practically lived and breathed timepieces.  The concepts of modern mechanical timekeeping probably owe more to him that to any other single person before or since.  I'm thinking the Daniels book would be a great one to have.