French 18K gold quarter repeating pocket watch Circa 1850

Gold open faced pocket watch by Pierre Giteau
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A French 18 carat yellow gold open faced quarter repeating pocket watch, circa 1850. This watch features a mechanical key wound movement with lever escapement. The grey guilloché dial is set with baton and railway minute markers, black Roman numerals for the hours, and Breguet style steel hands. The 18 carat gold case is engraved: Giteau Horloger du Roi, Élève de Breguet, Palais Royal No. 140 Marcel Lachèze.
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Diameter: 49 mm.
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Weight: 73,5 g
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Signed: Giteau élève de Breguet.
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Pierre Giteau – French Watchmaker in Paris
Pierre Giteau, an apprentice (élève) of the legendary Abraham-Louis Breguet, worked as a watchmaker in Paris from around 1811 to 1870. He was appointed Horloger breveté du Roi (Watchmaker to the King) and was renowned for both his small and large clocks. Giteau signed his timepieces Giteau, Élève de Breguet, a mark that remains highly sought after by collectors.
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In the 1811 Almanach du commerce de Paris, des départements de l’empire français et des principales Villes du Monde, Giteau is recorded at 5 Rue St. Nicaise. By 1816, according to the Almanach des 25,000 adresses de Paris, he was based at the Palais Royal, Galerie des Pierres No. 129. He later operated from Palais Royal No. 114, and subsequently at the Galerie de Valois, Nos. 140 and 2498.
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Among his known works are pocket watches, often fitted with fine cylinder or lever movements, and larger clocks of notable craftsmanship. One example, signed Giteau, Élève de Breguet, bears Movement No. 15845 and Case No. 3013, dated circa 1890—presumably retailed by a successor to Giteau.
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An unusual episode in his life was reported in the Paris newspaper Gazette des Tribunaux on January 21 and 22, 1839: a valuable gold watch belonging to Giteau was stolen and later recovered in a house of prostitution. The thief, Louise-Augustine Radiguet, was arrested by Police Commissioner Marrigues.