Extremely rare French 18 Carat gold repeating watch Circa 1810

Gold watch with visible balance cock
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An 18 Carat gold and enamel, quarter repeating pocket watch, circa 1810. With a visable balance cock in the form of the Légion d’Honneur insignia. The watch was made for Nicolas Oudinot, 1st Comte Oudinot, and 1st Duc de Reggio, Marshal of France (1767-1847). An Empire case, polished bezels, reeded band, glazed back displaying the balance cock pierced and enamelled with the insignia of the Légion d’Honneur. Hinged gold cuvette with sunray engine turning, aperture for the cock and engraved oval cartouche below with the initials AO.
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White enamel dial with Breguet numerals, outer minute divisions. Blued steel Breguet hands. A  matte gilt, full plate movement, fusee and chain, verge escapement, three arm brass balance, flat balance spring, finely pierced, chased and enamelled cock in the form of the insignia of the Légion d’Honneur, silvered regulation scale with a blued steel hand, repeating on gongs activated by depressing the pendant. Movement signed.
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Diameter: 55 mm
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Signed: Le Roy  Paris
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Slightly restored soft enamel
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Nicolas Oudinot (1767-1847) was one of the most distinguished French soldiers of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was Masséna’s right hand man throughout the Swiss campaign of 1799, first as a General of Division, then as Chief of Staff. He won extraordinary distinction at the Battle of Zürich and so distinguished himself at the Battle of Monzambano that Napoleon presented him with a Sword of Honor. He was made Inspector General of Infantry and upon the establishment of the Empire, he was given the Grand Cross of the Légion d’Honneur. In 1808 he was made a Count of the French Empire and in 1809 was promoted to the rank of Marshal of France. He was made titular Duke of Reggio in the Kingdom of Naples and received a large money grant in April 1810. He administered the government of the Kingdom of Holland from 1810-to 1812.
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On Napoleon’s abdication, he rallied to the new government and was made a Peer of France by Louis XVIII. His last active service was the French invasion of Spain in 1823. He died as Governor of the veterans’ institution Les Invalides in Paris. This fine and unusual watch were made for the highly distinguished French Marshal Nicolas Oudinot, 1st Comte Oudinot and 1st Duc de Reggio. Oudinot was given the Grand Cross of the Légion d’Honneur, France’s highest decoration. The order was established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802 and was first awarded in 1804. Oudinot would have been one of the first recipients of the Légion d’Honneur and would have specially commissioned the watch to show his high standing in the Republic and as a military leader. The order was the first modern order of merit, open to men of all ranks and professions, awarded in recognition solely of merit or bravery.