A brief history of watchmaking (French)

From the 13th century to the present day, from the beginnings of watchmaking to the rise of modern timepieces, In this article, we will see, in a non-exhaustive way, the history of French watchmaking.

• 1292 : Ever since humans observed the cycle of day and night, they have constantly sought to measure time, gradually leading them to devise measuring instruments of varying degrees of precision. A keen interest in this subject seems to have developed in France from 1292 onwards, the period in which we find records of the first French clockmaker, Jehan l'Aulogier.

• Middle Ages : Watchmaking took its first political and religious turn. While for the Church, mastering time allowed it to structure the lives of Christians through its clocks and bell towers, the Kings wish to use it to assert the supremacy of their power.

• Around 1410 : The advent of the mainspring, which gave rise to the truly portable household clock. Lighter, it also acquired a slimmer and more refined design, thus paving the way for miniaturization and the creation of the first watches.

• 1505 : The first portable watches appeared. Their invention is attributed to the German locksmith and watchmaker Peter Henlein, who is considered the first to have built a watch in 1505 in Nuremberg. Although this date is disputed, it remains the only reference to this day. In fact, from 1504 to 1508, Peter Henlein built a drum-shaped watch, the " Taschenuhr These clocks can run for 40 hours before needing to be wound. More precisely, they are very small clocks to which he welds a ring on the side. They can thus be worn as a pendant or on a chain around the neck. It should be noted that archival texts mention portable clocks that were allegedly manufactured earlier in Italy.

• 1518 : In France, it was Francis I who inaugurated the first watch French "Thanks to Julien Coudray in 1518. The Blois watchmaker Julien Coudray was one of the most skilled craftsmen and makers of the 16th century. Appointed "watchmaker" to Kings Louis XII and Francis I 1^er, He will be highly respected for his expertise. At the time, being the king's watchmaker meant being chosen to embody his vision. At the request of King Francis I^er, Julien Coudray created a watch inlaid in the pommel of two of his daggers. According to historical sources, Julien Coudray is thus considered the inventor of the portable watch.

• 1685 : If watchmaking became synonymous with art and science in the mid-17th century^th century thanks to the improvement of techniques, the revocation of the edict of Nantes in 1685 would be a real scourge for French watchmaking excellence. Indeed, before that date France, and more specifically Burgundy-Franche-Comté, was the true cradle of European watchmaking. With the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, Protestant worship was then banned, churches were destroyed, and many artisans, such as watchmakers and jewelers, were forced into exile. This led to a mass emigration of French Protestant watchmakers to Switzerland, who took their knowledge and manufacturing secrets with them. The consequences were disastrous for France, which saw a multitude of artisans, as well as talented teachers, flee.

• It's in 1700 French watchmaking regained its renown during the Age of Enlightenment. The expertise of French master watchmakers, such as Julien Leroy, made up for the setbacks caused by the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Paris thus became the undisputed center of watchmaking, attracting talent from all over Europe. The second half of the Age of Enlightenment was marked by a surge in scientific and technological advancements. As a result, watches became more precise, simpler, and more comfortable to use and discreet.

• 1777 : The invention of the automatic movement dates back to the late 18th century, attributed to the Swiss watchmaker Abraham Louis Perrelet and his jerking watch. However, historians disagree on the origin of this invention. While some credit the Swiss watchmaker Abraham Louis Perrelet, others believe the device was invented by... the Liège watchmaker Hubert Sarton in 1778 with a rotor winding mechanism.

It is impossible to talk about the history of French watchmaking without mentioning Abraham-Louis Breguet. ! This French and Prussian watchmaker and physicist made many contributions to watchmaking with a long list of inventions and improvements. Breguet is best known for inventing the tourbillon. This invention was patented in 1801 but not unveiled to the public until 1806. It was a major invention for modern watchmaking, as this visionary device managed to neutralize the effects of gravity on the accuracy of a watch's movement. Breguet is also known for having improved the automatic winding mechanism a few years earlier, in 1780. But the inventor of the automatic watch, According to the archives, it was either Perellet or, more likely, Sarton. Among the list of innovations that Breguet was led to develop, we find that of the automatic winding (1780), the striking spring and the equation of time (1785), the fall-parameter (1790), the perpetual calendar (1795), the famous tourbillon (1801) or even the chronograph in 1820.

• In the 19th century, in a perpetual quest for practicality, The watch winder was moved from the 12 o'clock position to the 3 o'clock position. Some watches, called savonnettes and equipped with a cover, had a winding stem at 3 o'clock at that time. In 1810, Abraham Louis-Breguet creates a watch-Strap complications arose for the Queen Consort of Naples, Caroline Bonaparte.

• We will have to wait. 1875 to witness the development of transport, which led to the unification of time. Whereas previously each city was regulated by its own solar time, the creation of the Greenwich Meridian it is establishing itself as the time reference and will now serve as a benchmark for railway networks worldwide.

• At the beginning of the 20th century, there The durability of watches became a priority, illustrated in 1931 with the invention of unbreakable glass. watch Strap becomes a true everyday object which continues to become more widespread thanks to the technical prowess of its inventors.

• 1970 : The arrival of quartz in the 1970s was a true revolution, and would be at the origin of digital signage.

• 2021 : Over the last few centuries, the world of watchmaking has experienced unprecedented development.A true part of everyday life, time is now integrated into a multitude of devices. While mechanical watchmaking experienced significant growth in the early 2000s, we are also seeing the emergence of smartwatches. Watchmaking demonstrates once again how innovation remains possible by combining expertise, tradition, fashion, and technology.