French 18K gold quarter repeating à toc watch Circa 1740

Three tone gold pocket watch
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A French multicoloured 18 carat gold quarter repeating à toc pocket watch made by Julien Le Roy, circa 1740. (Louis XV period). This watch features a gilt brass fullplate movement with verge escapement, chain and fusee, cylindrical pillars, hammer, engraved and drilled cock, and a pendant repeater. It has a white enamel dial with a chip at 3 o’clock, Roman numeral hour markers, Arabic numerals for the minutes, a railway track, a winding square at 4 o’clock, and Louis XV gold hands. The case back is decorated with gardening motifs on a radiant sunray background. The dial plate edge is engraved with: Inventé par Jul Le Roy en 1740 et le Rouage en 1755 (Invented by Jul Le Roy in 1740 and the Rouage in 1755). This inscription notes the repetition à bâte levée invented in 1740. Both dial and movement are signed.
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Diameter: 45 mm
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Weight: 85 g
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Signed: Julien Le Roy  
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The term répétition à bâte levée on an antique watch, often associated with the famous French watchmaker Julien Le Roy (1686-1759), refers to a specific 18th-century construction of a repeater mechanism (a watch that strikes the time on demand).