English repeating watch for the Chinese market circa 1760

Gold open faced pocket watch by Daniel de St. Leu
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A very rare agate English double-cased half-quarter repeating verge pocket watch made for the Chinese market, circa 1760.
Double cases: outer case – curved from a single piece of agate mounted in 18-carat gold with a large lateral hinge; Inner case – 18-carat gold, pierced and engraved with Rococo scrolling and a cartouche with a farmstead, signed movement protection cap, rear bell and all-or-nothing half-quarter repeating system activated by the pendant. Enamel dial with Roman hours, Arabic minutes and gold Louis XV hands. Full plate movement, keywind, applied floral decorations, fire gilt, signed, chain/fusee, two hammers, moulded movement pillars, verge escapement, three-arm brass balance, pierced and florally engraved balance cock, chatoned diamond endstone on balance.
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Diameter: 50 mm
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Weight: 144 g
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Signed: Daniel de St. Leu, London
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This is one of only three watches by Daniel De St. Leu, known for outer cases made of a hard stone. One, in a bloodstone case, was in the King Faruk Collection, however, without a repetition (sold by Sotheby’s, March 12, 1954, lot 368); the other, in an agate case similar to this one, set with diamonds but only with a quarter repeater, was sold in London on December 17, 2003 (Christie’s lot 46) for £36,425 ($63,780). The other distinguished feature of the watch is its half-quarter (7 ‘ min) repeater, the only one known by De Saint Leu; all others are quarter or hour repeaters. It is also one of the earliest known De Saint Leu’s watches. These watches established his reputation, which in 1765 let him choose as a Watchmaker to the Queen. Daniel de St. Leu Daniel de St. Leu originally came from Geneva and worked from 1753 to 1797; he created some of the most beautiful and intricate watches of the eighteenth century. 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. 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.