French silver one-handed verge oignon watch with alarm Circa 1695

Silver oignon watch by Gaudron
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A French silver one-handed verge oignon watch with alarm, circa 1695. Full plate movement, chain and fusee, florally engraved barrel for the alarm train, one hammer, large three-arm steel balance. Silver champlevé dial with Roman hours, a central alarm disc with Arabic numerals in white enamel cartouches an chased floral decoration in the centre. The case with pierced foliage decoration over a green ground, rear bell.
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Diameter: 60 mm
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Weight: 214 g
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Signed: Gaudron à Paris
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Gaudron was a watchmaker to the King of France and to the Duc d’Orleans.
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Oignon watches were most popular in France during the last 30 years of the Sun King’s reign (Louis XIV). Only a few of them were produced later than that. Presumably, there were workshops in France that produced ebauches for oignons, however, up to the present day no such ebauche has ever surfaced. Oignons have a large gap between the plates which means that the parts of the movement are well visible. The viewer can easily see the individual parts and how they work in a large-scale model, this was part of the great appeal these watches had. The oignon is a robust and useful pocket watch that, in contrast to the previous pocket and pendant watches at the time, shows the time with adequate accuracy.