English 18K gold quarter repeater verge watch Circa 1787

Gold open faced pocket watch by Daniel De Saint Leu
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A quality pair-cased pocket watch made of gold with a quarter repeater of the eminent English watchmaker Daniel de Saint-Leu circa 1787. The watch is made of 18-carat gold and has an outer case with intricate engravings and a casemaker’s punch mark IP. The inner case is also made of 18-carat gold and has lavishly florally engraved pierced sides. The watch features a signed movement protection cap, a rear bell, and an enamel dial with radial Roman hours, Arabic minutes, and gold arrow hands. The full plate movement is keywind, fire gilt, and has hand-engraved foliate decor. It is also signed and has a chain/fusee, two hammers, solid movement pillars, a three-arm brass balance, a florally engraved pierced balance cock, and a large chatoned diamond endstone on balance.
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Diameter: 55 mm
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Weight: 170 g
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Signed: Dan. De St. Leu Watchmaker to Her Majesty London
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Daniel de St. Leu originally came from Geneva and worked from 1753 to 1797; he created some of the eighteenth century’s most beautiful and intricate watches. In 1765, he was appointed watchmaker to Queen Charlotte, wife of King George III – the fact that all of de St. Leu’s watches after this year are either signed ‘Sevt. to her Majesty’ or ‘Watch Maker to her Majesty’ is proof that he held this title for the rest of his life.
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De St. Leu specialized in producing watches for the wealthy Ottoman market, where the clientele wanted their watches to be pieces of jewellery, often in lavish gold cases with elaborate decoration and set with precious stones. In the 18th century, English watches were very much in demand on the Ottoman market and exported in great numbers from England. R. Rolt states in ‘A New Dictionary of Trade and Commerce’, 1756, that “Great quantities of watches are exported to Asia, particularly to Turkey; where they serve more for ornaments like pictures in rooms than for use in pockets.” Daniel de St. Leu created movements of superior quality and put them in extravagant cases – the perfect timepieces for the Ottoman market.