Lot 104

Daniel de Saint Leu "Watchmaker to her Majesty"

A double-cased pocket watch "à quatre couleurs" with quarter hour / hour strike and quarter hour / hour repeater for the Ottoman market in near mint condition

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The outer case is in excellent condition and decorated with chased four-colour gold ornaments as well as foliage scrolls; it is pierced around the edge. The back is decorated with high-relief symbols of war. The gold inner case is also pierced around the edge and richly engraved with floral motifs and decorated with oval cartouches. A lever on the rim allows the striking mechanism to be turned off.

Daniel de Saint Leu (active 1753-1797) was originally from Geneva. He worked in Geneva and London, watchmaker to the Queen in 1765, Saint Leu was renowned for very fine enameled and varicolored gold clockwatches set with diamonds and precious stones, and repeating watches for the Turkish and Islamic markets. He also made a magnificent silver-mounted clock for the Court of Spain. Although de Saint Leu himself was only active until about 1797, the company continued to make watches under his name for roughly another 15 years.
Source: "Dictionnaire des Horlogers Genevois", by Osvaldo Patrizzi, Geneva 1998, p. 160.