François Perregaux

(Le Locle 1834 - 1877 Yokohama)

Born into a family of big watchmaking businessmen in Le Locle, François Perregaux set off in 1853 for New York, where he spent six years representing the family business H. Perregaux & Co. Back in his home town in 1859, he set off the same year for Asia as the agent of the Watchmaking Union to set up an export office. From 1860 he was based in Yokohama, becoming the first Swiss watchmaking businessman to set up in the Land of the Rising Sun, before the signature of the friendship and trade treaty between Switzerland and Japan (1864). In 1865, he founded the company F. Perregaux & Co in Yokohama, and would be the official agent of Girard-Perregaux until the year 1877, when he passed away.

Counted among the outstanding figures of the French-speaking community in Japan and one of its longest standing residents, François Perregaux was involved in The Swiss Rifle Association, serving as Chairman for some time. He was laid to rest in the Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery.