Extremely rare French cylinder watch with fob chain Circa 1850

Gold, electrotype silver, niëllo and diamond-set cylinder watch
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A very fine and extremely rare French gold, electrotype silver, niëllo and diamond-set keyless cylinder pocket watch with the original gold and silver fob chain and a gold South African Pond of 1894, circa 1850. Matte gilt Swiss movement, 8 jewels, wolf’s tooth winding, cylinder escapement, matte gilt three-arm balance, flat blued steel balance spring, index regulator. Gold hinged cuvette. Niëlloed silver dial with a bird and foliate scroll design, inlaid gold chapter ring with Roman numerals and dot half-hour divisions, rose-cut diamond-set fleur-de-lys hands. Gold case with electrotype silver decoration, the bezel with overlapping continuous pattern, the band with Vitruvian scroll pattern, hinged back cover with a central panel depicting la chasse in high relief, the foliate border with four gold trophies, the outermost border with continuous overlapping pattern and four gold flowerheads. Cuvette signed Froment Meurice.
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Diameter: 47 mm
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Signed: François-Désiré Froment-Meurice
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François-Désiré Froment-Meurice (1802-1855) was amongst the most renowned silversmiths of mid-nineteenth-century Paris. He was a historicist whose work encompassed the Renaissance, medieval and Islamic styles typically with a profusion of ornament. Combining traditional and new techniques of chasing, engraving and electrotype and electro-plating. This watch demonstrates this combination of techniques and has the very rare feature of a niëlloed dial.