Jacques-Frédéric Houriet was born on February 25, 1743 in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. He is the son of a watchmaker and a nephew of the renowned naturalist Daniel Gagnebin. Houriet become fascinated by horology so he was sent under the apprenticeship of Abraham Louis Perret. In 1759, Houriet moved to Paris to deepen his knowledge in horology. He found the company of best antique clock makers and watchmakers, like Julien Le Roy, Abraham Louis Breguet, Jean Romilly, Ferdinand Berthoud, Louis Recordon and Antide Janvier, and had his training there.
In 1768, Houriet chose to settle in his hometown in Le Locle where he opened several family-run workshops rather than pursue his lucrative career in Paris. Fame and glory have promised him in Paris but chose to leave and returned to his motherland. Their most famous workshop Courvoisier & Houriet became the most important employer in Le Locle. This shop was run by Houriet and his brother-in law David Courvoisier. Houriet produced high-quality clocks and watches, and some of them were made for the most famous clockmakers. His craft featuring tourbillon regulators was made for his friend Abraham-Louis Breguet, and most of the time equation watches of Ferdinand Berthoud. Aside from selling their own products, their shops also sold antique clocks and watches that were crafted by other watch-makers of Le Locle.
In 1818, Houriet left their family business after the nearly 40 years of successful production and retail of fine clocks and watches. At the age of 75, Houriet worked independently and made exceptional timepieces, like the pocket chronometers. The hard work in his studies and experiments paid him off with highly important inventions. He came up with a spherical balance spring to solve isochronism, which involves in the oscilations of the balance spring. He also came up with the gold balance spring to solve the influence of magnetism over the rate of chronometers. This spherical spring timepiece is an unusual mantel timepiece mounted on a circular wooden stand. It features gilt brass and double virgule escapement, a horizontally mounted slow-beating balance, a matte silvered dial embedded with Roman numerals and subsidiary seconds.
Houriet supported his collectible clocks inventions in the form of published essays and articles, and won prizes out of his works. He was also welcomed to be one of the famous members of the French Academy of Sciences. But since Houriet spent his remaining years in discoveries to which historians have no interest until today, he died with no famous clients wearing his numbered watches. He only had a few rare connoisseur admirers who acknowledged and appreciated his discoveries and his fine antique clocks.
His exceptional scientific contributions that were cited by Jean-Claude Sabrier in the Editions de la Chatière and the Editions Simonin earned him pride and gratitude after passing on the message of his discoveries. These present editions will now assure Houriet the fame and recognition he deserves. Houriet is now acknowledged and appreciated in the field of horology as a true father of marine chronometry and accurate horology. He was in fact considered as one of the most eminent and influential Swiss clockmakers and watchmakers promoted who promoted precision horology in Le Locle.