Abraham-Louis Perrelet

Perrelet was born in Le Locle, then in the Principality of Neuchâtel. His father, Daniel Perrelet, was a carpenter and a farmer and as soon as the young man was in a position to do some favours, he helped his parents on the farm. At the age of twenty years he gave up his modest work to learn watchmaking. After an apprenticeship of fifteen days at one named Prince, in Le Locle, who worked little and very badly, and where he learnt absolutely nothing, he started to work independently and so became his own master.