====== Perrelet, Abraham-Louis ======
{{wst>image_r|Perrelet,_Abraham-Louis|Abraham-Louis Perrelet (1729-1826)}}
**Abraham-Louis Perrelet** was a watchmaker and the inventor of the [[automatic]] winding for [[pocket watch]]es ([[1770]]). He was born on January 9, [[1729]] in [[Le Locle]] during a long, unusually severe winter. His father, Daniel Perrelet, was a farmer and carpenter. During the interminable winter months Daniel Perrelet made tools, some of which, especially fine worked out, were determined for watchmakers. So it was not surprising that Abraham-Louis since his youth was busy with the making of tools. His career wish seemed clear from the start He wanted to become a watchmaker.

Abraham-Louis Perrelet invented and developed a range of new functions to optimize the timepiece. He was the first in [[Le Locle]], who made [[watch]]es with [[cylinder gear]] and [[duplex inhibition]], with [[perpetual calendar]] and [[equation of time]]. He created the [[ebauche movement]] and perfected the [[gear train]], the pinion gears, the [[escapement]] and the [[winding]] mechanism. There are several historical evidences that the authorship of the [[self-winding]] watch can be contributed to Abraham-Louis Perrelet.

Despite his young age, he was soon known everywhere and was often asked for advice. He was one of the most popular master watchmakers of his time. [[Abraham-Louis Breguet]] came to his workshop, just like his grandson, Louis-Frédéric Perrelet, who later became official watchmaker to the Kings of France and in [[1827]] received a patent for a [[rattrapante]] mechanism invented by Abraham-Louis Perrelet.

He spent his whole life with his family, closely connected with his hometown and his roots. He died in [[1826]] in [[Le Locle]], after he had devoted nearly 80 years to watchmaking.

About 170 years later, [[1995]], the company [[Perrelet|Perrelet SA]] named after Abraham-Louis Perrelet, presented an [[automatic]] watch with double [[rotor]] the Perrelet Dipteros.


{{tag>Biographies}}