Lot 92

Julien Le Roy

A large Parisian coach clock with quarter hour/hour repeater, alarm and date in its original leather transport case - with original winding key

The case is decorated with a band of cartouches and ornamental sound holes around the edge on the back side and the bezel to emphasise the beautiful sound of the strike. The back is decorated with an engraved bouquet of flowers.

Julien Le Roy (1686-1759) was one of the most outstanding clock- and watchmakers of his time and certainly played a decisive part in establishing the leading role French clockmaking had in the 18th century. He became a master in 1713, presented an equation clock to the Académie Royale des Sciences in 1717, and was appointed clockmaker to the king in 1739 (with his own rooms at the Louvre). Le Roy invented the adjustable bracket for the verge escapement wheel ("potence"), the repetition strike on springs instead of bells for pocket watches, and the "all-or-nothing" piece for repeating watches. His inventions and improvements were of such extreme importance that most watchmakers adopted them promptly for their own pieces. Later Le Roy was director of the Société des Arts; he and his son supplied the entries on watches and clocks in the encyclopaedia compiled by Diderot and d'Alembert.