French extremely rare gold repeating virgule watch Circa 1789

Pink gold à toc repeater 
–
An extremely rare French 18 carat pink gold open faced quarter repeating à toc key wind pocket watch with secret opening mechanism made by Jean-Antoine Lépine in Paris, circa 1789. The polished case with maker’s punch mark GM for Guillaume Mermillod, a pusher for repetition via the pendant and a special opening mechanism through turning the pendant. White enamel dial with black Arabic hours, an outer minute track with red Arabic five minute numerals and gold skeletonized Fleur de Lys hands, it is signed Lépine Invenit et Fecit. Gilded brass movement with a virgule escapement, going barrel, three arm ring balance and wolf’s tooth train for going and the striking mechanism, one hammer.
–
Diameter: 54 mm
–
Weight: 116 g
–
Signed: Lépine à Paris Invenit et Fecit
–
Montre à toc
A ‘dumb’ repeater watch in which a hammer strikes the inside of the case to produce a muffled sound. Invented by Julian Le Roy in 1740.
–
The present watch is a very fine example of Jean-Antoine Lépine’s work. The case with a fixed bezel, the back opening by turning the pendant, the distinctive form of the Arabic numerals (which were to become fashionable until replaced by Empire numerals and were used during the same period by Breguet) and the gold Fleur de Lys hands are typical of his style.
–
The movement further illustrates all the characteristics associated with the work of Lépine and is identical to that chosen by Moinet to show in his book “Nouveau Traité d’Horlogerie”, plate 10. According to Adolphe Chapiro’s “Jean-Antoine Lépine, Horloger (1720-1814)”, Lépine made his first watches with wolf’s tooth trains in 1771, but it was mainly between 1787 and 1789 that he used them for watches numbered 5200 to 5711.