So Breguet altogether was one of that little and rare group of masters who could exploit every aspect of horology. No matter what was wanted, Breguet could produce it. He had his workmen all the way across Europe. He sent his son to Soho in Birmingham as an apprentice, but the son found that the English were too coarse and drunken, and so he elected to go back to Paris.

[Q] Did Breguet work with some of the English watchmakers? And Arnold, did he have a lot of contact with Arnold?

He knew Arnold, he had a great admiration for Arnold, which is unusual in any profession really, but he did have a great admiration for Arnold and he did convert one of his own watches... sorry, he converted one of Arnold's watches into a vehicle for carrying Breguet's tourbillon, which was a great compliment to Arnold. It was a very expensive present to make too, and that watch is in the British Museum now. So of the few people in the history of horology, to make a positive contribution, Breguet counts very highly among those few people. There is only a handful, a half a dozen at the outside, who really influenced the profession.