Lot 313

Julien Le Roy

An ornamental Parisian verge pocket watch with quarter repeater in a three-colour gold case

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The back is ornamented with a flower-filled vase inside a laurel wreath under a bow. The openwork edge ensures a strong sound for the quarter repeater. The repeater is released by pressing down the pendant.
The insciption "Inventé par Julien Le Roy en 1740" refers to the so-called "à bâte levée", which is a novel arrangement invented by Julien Le Roy, that leaves more space for the repeater mechanism than usual. This invention was soon adopted by most makers. The date 1755 refers to the invention of the "All or nothing" safety device for repeater mechanisms (see Ch. Allix and G. Brusa : Antiquarian Horology, June 1972).

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.
His son Pierre Le Roy (1717-1785) was a French clockmaker. He was the inventor of the detent escapement, the temperature-compensated balance and the isochronous balance spring. His developments are considered as the foundation of the modern precision clock.