Oudin

Charles Oudin (père)   29.6.1743 – 12.7.1803

He was born in Auzeville (near Clermont). He started his career as watchmaker in Sedan, remaining at the same address in this city for the rest of his life and even being its major in 1794. The same year, during the reign of terror, he was imprisoned for three months. He worked also for Breguet, in which books he’s mentioned as ‘Oudin père’. It is not known whether he opened his own workshop.

Joseph – Jacques Oudin  1773 – 1842

Son of Charles Oudin père. Little is known about the start of Joseph Oudin’s watchmaker career, but he was employed by Breguet as his father before him. Joseph is mentioned for the first time in Breguet’s books in 1796, where he worked on a ‘montre souscription’. He was not very appreciated by Boulanger, who was the workshop director during Breguet’s exile in Switzerland. This tension among the workshop workers is palpable in a complaint letter from Boulanger to Breguet in early 1794. After his military service in 1795 Joseph reintegrated Breguet’s workshop where he stayed until opening his own workshop in the early 1800, being mentioned for the last time in Breguet’s books in 1801, working on a eight day, quarter repeating watch. He’s known to have lived at Rue Vivienne No. 11 by 1804. Financial difficulties and maybe personal problems lead to the divorce from his wife the 31.10.1810. By 1810 Joseph Oudin is recorded to have been in Rue Feydeau No. 25 until 1812. Around 1818 he left France for New Orleans (USA).

His production, resembling a lot to the one of his old master, is of very high quality, but very few pieces are known today. The pieces known are all different, which suggests that each piece is unique. He signed his work ‘Joseph Oudin’,  ‘Jh Oudin, Rue Vivienne No. 11’ or Oudin, Elève de Breguet, Rue Vivienne No. 11’, as our movement. After 1810 he signed with ‘ Rue Faydeau’, his last known watch is signed like that and bears ‘No. 271’. Most probably not much more watches than 271 were built. The small production and also the fact that each watch is different, could be explained by the fact that he worked alone (en chambre), with no workmen.

Charles Oudin  1768 – 5.3.1840

The best known of the Oudin dynasty was born in Clermont. Charles is the nephew of Charles Oudin père. With 18 years he moved to Paris and became an apprentice of Abraham – Louis Breguet in which work books he’s mentioned as ‘Oudin Sedan’. Breguet recognised the talent of Oudin and he became the best apprentice of the Breguet workshop. During Breguet’s exile in Switzerland in 1794, Oudin was asked to supervise the workshop, but he refused as he preferred to work on watches instead. Oudin participated in the development of the ‘perpetuelle’ watches and the ‘souscription’ watches. 1797 Oudin was allowed for the first time to use the signature ‘Oudin Elève de Breguet’. 1798 he invented the equation of time complication for ‘souscription’ movements.

After 14 years in Breguet’s workshop, Oudin decided to open his own manufacture in 1801. After having married a daughter of Bazile Le Roy he settled the Gallerie de Pierre, Palais Royal N. 65. Oudin was one of the very few apprentices of Breguet allowed to continue to sign as ‘Elève de Breguet’. His watches were very much in style and quality of his former master. He gained fame very quickly and built watches for important clients such as: Empress Josephine, Empress Eugenie, Tsar and Tsarina of Russia, King and Queen of Spain, King of Portugal, Napoleon III, Kings of Italy and Greece, Pope Pius VII, the Count of Chambord.

Starting from 1830 the firm made also marine chronometers and joined Breguet as ‘Horloger de la Marine’. 1836 the workshop passed to his two sons Jean Charles Oudin and Joseph Oudin, operating from ‘Palais Royal No. 52’.