English gold and enamel quarter repeater à toc Circa 1780

Gold and enamel quarter repeating à toc verge watch
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An English yellow gold and enamel open faced quarter repeating à toc verge pocket watch, circa 1780. Signed and numbered gilt full plate movement, pierced and engraved balance bridge.
White enamel dial with Roman hours and outer minute divisions. Engraved case with blue and green basse taille enamel floral decoration, the front bezel is decorated to match.
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Diameter: 49 mm
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Signed: James Vigne London
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Watchmaker James Vigne was born in 1745 in London. He was the son of Jacques Vigne, who was a Huguenot originally from Dieppe. Vigne worked at Charing Cross 2 in London. In 1781 he received the freedom of the Clockmakers’ Company. James was the father of miniature painter Henry George Vigne (1765-1788) and Henry Vigne (1783-1850), who would later become a jeweller in Dublin. The Vigne family eventually moved to College Green 27, Dublin, where Vigne was appointed jeweller to Her Majesty the Queen. James Vigne died in Dublin on December 15, 1800.
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Montre à toc. A ‘dumb’ repeater watch in which a hammer strikes the inside of the case to produce a muffled sound. Invented by Julian Le Roy in 1740.
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Basse taille is an enamelling technique in which the artist creates a low-relief pattern in metal, usually silver or gold, by engraving or chasing. The entire pattern is created in such a way that its highest point is lower than the surrounding metal. A translucent enamel is then applied to the metal, allowing light to reflect from the relief and creating an artistic effect. It was used in the late Middle Ages, and then again in the 17th century.