John Arnold - Arnold and Breguet

Arnold and Breguet

The important French watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet became a great friend of Arnold. In 1792 the Duke of Orleans met Arnold in London and showed him one of Breguet's clocks, and Arnold was so impressed that he immediately travelled to Paris and sought permission for Breguet to take on his son as his apprentice. Arnold appears to have given Breguet carte blanche to incorporate or develop any of Arnold's inventions and techniques into his own watches.

These included his balance designs, helical springs made of steel or gold, the spring detent escapement, the overcoil balance spring, and even the layout of an Arnold dial design that Breguet incorporated into his own. These were made from engine-turned gold or silver—a pattern that became the classic and distinctive Breguet dial. These, which first appeared in 1783, are laid out identically to the enamel dials Arnold designed for his small chronometers.