Lot 197

Charles Le Roy à Paris, Movement No. 1132, Case No. 451, 47 mm, 109 g, circa 1750
An exquisite and impressive gold enamel verge pocket watch with "à toc" quarter repeater made by the famous watchmaker to the French king, Charles Le Roy
Case: 22k gold / translucid Champlevé enamel, charge mark of Antoine Leschaudel (1744-1750), case maker's punch mark "JQT", Parisian guild punch mark "I" for the years 1749-1750. Dial: enamel. Movm.: full plate movement, chain/fusee, 1 hammer, three-arm steel balance.
Charles Le Roy founded the oldest watch manufacture in France at 1764 in Paris. Greatly appreciated by the King, the Queen, and the Court, Charles Le Roy was often invited to the Louvre. He was noted for the perfection of his watches and his beautiful clocks that decorated the walls of princely palaces and mansions throughout Europe. During the period of the French Revolution from September 1793 - July 1794, he used an anagram of his name, EYLOR, rather than his real name, which had been too closely associated with the aristocracy. This name can still be found today on the clock dials and on the plates of watches produced during the era.

Sold