English 18k gold pair cased verge pocket watch Circa 1785

Gold open faced repeating watch
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An early splendour pair case verge watch with quarter-hour self-striking and chatelaine, Royal watchmaker Daniel de St. Leu London, circa 1785. An 18K gold, very splendid pair case, back with the typical St.-Leu decoration with cannons and flags, in very beautiful condition, inner case also beautifully decorated and pierced, mostly floral motifs (small restorations), bell, signed original and numbered dome, also with matching number, beautifully decorated fire-gilt movement, also completely signed and numbered, quarter-hour self-striking with rare striking mechanism with double strike of the hours, exceptionally well preserved signed enamel dial, pink golden hands, matching magnificent fire-gilt chatelaine, in working order, striking mechanism needs revision, rare collector’s watch.
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Diameter: 60 mm
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Weight: 171 g
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Signed: Daniel de St. Leu London
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Daniel de St.(Saint) Leu originally came from Genèva and worked from 1753 to 1797. He created some of the most beautiful and elaborate watches of the 18th century. In 1765 he was appointed as a Royal watchmaker to Queen Charlotte at the Court of George III in London. Due to the fact that all watches of de St. Leus are marked ‘Sevt. to her Majesty’ or ‘Watch Maker to her Majesty’ after this date, confirms that he held this position until the end of his life. De St. Leu was specialised in manufacturing watches for the wealthy Ottoman market, where customers wanted to use their watches also as jewellery. The gold watch cases were mostly richly decorated and set with precious jewels. In the 18th century English watches were very popular on the Ottoman market and were exported in large numbers. Daniel de St. Leu also created movements of the highest quality and built them into his extravagant cases. Pieces that were perfect for the Ottoman market.