Moser, Henry & Cie. This company was set up by Johann Heinrich Moser. They seem to have been trading about the 1824 to the 1980’s period.

In 1824 he left Schaffhausen to travel to St Petersburg, Russia to set up one of the first watch making facilities. This was very successful and he set up workshops in Le Locle, his home town, under the name Henry Moser.

In 1866 Heinrich (Henry), together with an American engineer Florence Jones, established a watchmaking facility on the Rhine, using water power, in Schaffhausen. This company later became the International Watch Company or IWC.

Until the Russian Revolution in 1917, the Henry Moser company supplied movements for use in Fabergé and other high class makers watches.

In 1979, Moser & Co. became part of the Dixi Group of companies.

Breguet

Breguet, Abraham Louis was born on 10th January 1747 at Neuchatel in Switzerland. He spent his early childhood in Switzerland and moved to Paris at the age of 15 in 1762, where he entered an apprenticeship to a clockmaker at Versailles. After completing his apprenticeship he set up shop at 39,Quai d'Horloge in Paris and married the daughter of a substantial Parisian family in 1775. During a visit of the Duke of Orleans to London, one of Breguet's watches was shown to Arnold ( a prominent London watchmaker at the time) and Breguet and Arnold were introduced. Between1787 and 1791 Breguet was in partnership with the clockmaker Xavier Gide.

When the revolution broke out in about 1791 Breguet, although not interested in politics came under suspicion and with help from influential friends, was permitted to leave Paris on 12 August and went home Switzerland and visited London, along with his son (Louis Antoine). During his travels and absences from Paris he set up workshops in Locle and Neuchatel.as well as London.  In 1795 he returned to France and found his establishment confiscated but with the help of friends was able to rebuild and continue his career. His workshop was in Quai de l'Horloge but a shop was purchased later at 28 Place Vendome.  In the 48 years of his working career he made history with his methods and ideas:- tourbillions, pocket chronometers, deck watches, chronographs, repeaters, clock watches, self winding watches, touch watches, very complicated calendar watches, carriage clocks, marine chronometers, thermometers, observatory clocks, and a watch/clock combination. During the rest of his life he visited London many times. He became Chronometer Maker to the Navy and Member of the Board of Longitude. He died on 23rd September 1823.
There are several ways that Breguet identified his work:- up until the Revolution most of his work was signed "Breguet a Paris. but after 1795 this was practically never used by him. After 1807 when he took his son into partnership they signed "Breguet et fils" after this he was appointed Horloger de la Marine in 1815 his work was so signed.

Breguet, Louis Antoine, son of Abraham was born in 1776 and educated in England. He became a partner in the business in about 1807. He retired in 1833 and died in 1858.

Breguet, Louis Clement Francois, son of Louis Antoine. Born December 1804,  died in 1883.

Breguet, Louis Antoine, son of Louis Clement, died young in 1882 at the age of only 31. The business passed to Mr. Edward Brown who was in partnership with the Breguet family from 1870 and whose descendants continued to run it until 1970.

Patek Philippe

in 1839 when Antoine Norbet de Patek and Francios Czapek, both Polish migrants living in Geneva, started Patek, Czapek & Co. During this time Patek & Czapek did release one of the first crown wound pocket watches (1839). The year 1845 saw Patek and new partner Jean Adrien Philippe, start up Patek & Co. The company changed its name in 1851 to Patek Philippe & Co. Patek Philippe made the first ever wrist watch in 1868. Patek Philippe also produced its first wristwatch with a minute repeater in 1925, and a range of 40 of these models continued to be made up until 1962.The Stern family is still heaviliy involved with Patek Philippe today, but the descendants of the Patek and Philippe family no longer have any involvement.

Vacheron & Constantin   Vacheron was founded by Jean-Marc Vacheron with 1 apprentice, in 1755 when he was just 24 years old. Although the firms of Vacheron and the rival business of Francois Constantin were both in trading by 1785 they did not come into being as the firm we know today until about 1810 when Constantin and Jean-Marc's son, Abraham, and grandson, Jaques-Barthelemy, went into partnership and set up the firm in 1819. An association with Georges-Auguste Leschot, about 1839 pushed them into the position of a top quality manufacturer from a typical Swiss producer. Leschot designed machinery and invented tools for the manufacture if the lever escapement. He and Vacheron worked together on the production and orders side leaving the business side of the partnership was left to Francois Constantin who traveled the world over. In 1880 the factory registered the famous Maltese cross trade mark. In 1854 Francois Constantin died and he was succeeded by his nephew, Jean-Francois Constantin but in 1867 he reverted to being an ordinary salesman and he handed over to Cesar Vacheron who died in 1869. Charles Vacheron then took over but died the following year in 1870. Charles's widow - Laure Vacheron-Pernessin then took over along with Catherine-Etiennette Vacheron (the widow of Jaques-Barthelemy Vacheron) and they ran the firm for an astonishing five years. In 1875 Jean-Francois Vacheron was returned to senior management. Catherine- Etiennette Vacheron died aged 101 in 1883 and Laure Vacheron-Pernessin in 1887. Part of the long history of this company, known for complicated and dress watches, involved producing watches that met stringent requirements for railroad companies. In 1896 the company name became Vacheron Constantin once more as it is today. Throughout the early 1900's the company produced many high value wristwatches both simple and complicated, sometimes with cooperation from Le Coultre. They exported many movements to the United States for local casing, using such firms as Bigelow and Kenard and Co. During the first world war they turned out military pocket watches and compasses In 1936 Charles Constantin became the company president but it could not overcome all Vacheron and Constantin's financial difficulties caused by the second world war. Charles Constantin had to sell the majority shareholding to Georges Ketterer (died 1969) in 1940. In the next decades the company flourished as a luxury watch assembler and marketer using mainly Le Coultre movements. In 1969 Ketterer's son Jaques who had joined the company in 1955, took over after his father died and when he died in 1987 A. Z. Yamani became the major shareholder. Now owned by Vendome Group