Fine, early French gold and enamel verge watch Circa 1645-50

Enamel decorated gold pocket watch by Jacques Goullons.
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Fine, early French gold and enamel verge pocket watch with a decorated outer case, circa 1645-1650.
Gilt brass full plate movement, going train, fusee regulation, verge escapement with a balance, rachet-and-click set-up for the mainspring, steel ratchet wheel, and pierced cock. The dial is mounted on a gilded brass front plate of the movement, which extends beyond the dial, the visible portion ornamented with an engraved leal design. The dial consists of an enamelled gold disk with the numerals of the hour chapter (I-XII} painted in black and the half hours marked by dotted ornaments, and it has a brass hand. In the centre of the dial is a scene of the Infant Saint John the Baptist Embracing the Christ Child. Painted enamel case on gold: back with a scene depicting the Virgin and Child with an Angel; front with a scene depicting Joseph Awakened by the Angel. Movement signed.
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Diameter: 49 mm
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Signed: Goullons Paris
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Jacques Goullons (French, active Paris, 1626–died 1671)
Goullons specialized in watch movements with painted enamel cases, including one for King Louis XIV. This case exterior’s miniatures depict the Virgin and Child with an angel, copying an engraving by Pierre Daret, and Joseph being awakened by an angel, after an engraving by Michel Dorigny. These engravings were recorded paintings by Simon Vouet. Such enamelled watchcases are rarely signed, and the best enamelers were so adept at reproducing the style of their sources that individual masters are difficult to identify.