Abraham-Louis Perrelet was born in Le Locle in 1729. An accomplished watchmaker, his name is synonymous with the self-winding movement invented in 1777.
In 1995, Perrelet, the modern-day brand, released the ‘Double Rotor’. In common with other automatic watches, an oscillating weight, located to the rear of the watch, energised the mainspring. However, as its name implies the watch featured an additional rotor positioned to the front, also tensioning the mainspring. Beyond its functional purpose, the dial-side rotor in motion proved a captivating spectacle.
Today, Perrelet is most famous for its Turbine models. First released in 2009, the watches feature an oscillating weight to the rear and a series of turbine blades to the front. The blades freely rotate with a mere hint of wrist motion, revealing the dial surface beneath. The turbine blades are not connected to the barrel as this would inhibit their rotational speed, hence their role is purely aesthetic.
Since 2004, Perrelet has belonged to the Festina Group which also owns the movement specialist, Soprod. This latter company played an instrumental role in the making of the Perrelet calibre P-331-MH, a COSC-certified movement.
