Napoleon owned a watch from a company that still exists.
In 1798, Napoleon Bonaparte, then a general in the French army, embarked on a military campaign to Egypt with 35,000 soldiers and three luxury timepieces. Before setting off, he paid a visit to horologist Abraham-Louis Breguet’s shop on Quai de l’Horloge in Paris and purchased a travel clock and two repeater watches, mechanical watches that chime the hour at the press of a button. Some 250 years later, you can still purchase a brand-new Breguet timepiece — that is, if you have at least $20,000 to spend on a watch.
Swiss-born Abraham-Louis Breguet founded his namesake company in 1775, and it rose to elite status in France after gaining Queen Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI as clients, along with many courtiers. He fled back to Switzerland during the French Revolution, but returned in 1795, just in time for Napoleon’s rise to prominence. His fine timepieces not only were practical for the military leader’s travels, but also helped signal his status among the French elite of the time.
Breguet is one of just a handful of 18th-century luxury watch companies that still operate today. Others include Blancpain, founded in 1735, and Vacheron Constantin, established in 1755. As for Napoleon’s Breguet watches, only his travel clock survives. It’s now part of the collection at the Swiss National Museum.
