The Story of Ferdinand Berthoud
It may seem as though Breguet is the only watchmaker of the 18th century, given how much time we devote to him, but that’s only because he is arguably the most prominent watchmaker of his time. Nevertheless, Breguet himself had masters who he collaborated with and learned from, one of which was renowned French horologist Ferdinand Berthoud.
Ferdinand Berthoud Chronomètre FB 1L / Credit: Monochrome
Ferdinand Berthoud was born in 1727 in the Val-de-Travers region of Switzerland, which was then part of the Principality of Neuchâtel (Prussia). His family were burghers, the medieval equivalent of bourgeoise, and watchmakers. Berthoud himself became a watchmaking apprentice to his older brother, Jean-Henry, as an adolescent. A top student, he moved to Paris to continue his studies at the age of 18, becoming Master Horologist of Paris only 8 years later, in 1753. It was an opportune time to be a watchmaker, as the courts of Europe were fighting to be first to perfect the calculation of longitude. Ferdinand Berthoud too focused on precision clockmaking, studying the marine chronometers made by John Harrison and being elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in the 1760s. In fact, two of Ferdinand Berthoud’s marine chronometers (no. 6 and no. 8) were taken on board Royal Navy ships for trials in 1768. The success of these trials leading to Berthoud’s appointment as Watchmaker to the King, cementing his position in horology circles. This would’ve also been around the time when Berthoud met a young Louis Breguet in Paris, as both were living in Île de la Cité, an area known for harbouring watchmakers at the time.
Ferdinand Berthoud continued working on his timepieces, becoming a Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur in 1804. He died peacefully at the age of 80, having passed his business on to his nephews. However, in 2006, Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, the President of Chopard, acquired the rights to the Ferdinand Berthoud name and relaunched the brand with the intent of honoring the Old Master by focusing on high quality, precise timepieces. As with Breguet, albeit not directly descended from Ferdinand, the Berthoud names lives on in horology.