Breguet

Breguet, one of the few luxury watch manufacturers originating in France, is now based in Switzerland. Abraham-Louis Breguet was a Swiss watchmaker who established his company in Paris. From 1870 through 1970, the corporation was owned by the Brown family, who were British. In 1976, the firm relocated to Vallee de Joux, Switzerland, and among its innovations are Abraham-Louis Breguet's tourbillon and the world's first wristwatch, which was produced in 1810. Napoleon Bonaparte was one of the many renowned people who admired Breguet's timepieces. Breguet, best known for creating the Marie Antoinette pocket watch, was commissioned by one of the Queen's lovers to construct a stunning watch for her.

Their clocks are now priced between $6,000 to $400,000, but they might go considerably higher for one-off designs. The Breguet No. 160 great complexity, commonly known as Marie-Antoinette, was constructed for King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette and had every watch function known at the time, wrapped in gold with sapphires within to reduce friction. The queen died before the watch was finished, and it is now on display in the L.A. Mayer Institute for Islamic Art in Jerusalem.

Most expensive Breguet watch ever sold: Marie-Antoinette Grande Complication, $30,000,000