French gilded brass single handed onion watch Circa 1700

Single hand open faced verge watch
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A fine large French gilded brass open faced oignon (onion) single hand pocket watch with an engraved case depicting a mother and child, made by Maussion in Verdun, circa 1700. This watch has a mechanical key winding full plate movement with a verge escapement, chain fusee, spiral balance, and an advance/retard adjustment disc. The backplate features a beautifully chased and pierced continental balance cock supported by ornately decorated pillars, signed Maussion à Verdun.
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The white enamel dial has large blue painted Roman numerals arranged radially, an inner ring marked for hours and quarters, a single metal arrow style hand, and a winding aperture near 2 o’clock. The timepiece is housed in a substantial, hinged, round, fire gilded brass onion case. The reverse back cover is finely engraved and chased with a detailed classical scene showing a woman, a young child, and a bird within a landscape, completed by a prominent winding stem and a sturdy round suspension bow.
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Diameter: 60 mm
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Weight: 153.7 g
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Signed: Maussion à Verdun
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The term oignon refers to the distinctive deep bulbous case shape that dominated French and Swiss watchmaking in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Master watchmakers like Mynuel in Paris elevated these substantial timepieces by integrating advanced auditory complications such as the quarter repeater. These mechanisms required sound to exit the heavy metal frames, so the case backs and sides were pierced and chased with foliage and scroll openwork, turning a technical necessity into an artistic showcase. Timepieces signed by Mynuel from this golden age of French horology are highly sought after by connoisseurs for their imposing presence and complex movement architecture.
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Maussion was a provincial French watch and clockmaker active in Verdun during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. While less documented in royal archives than elite Parisian horologists, provincial masters like Maussion played a crucial role in supplying sophisticated timepieces to local nobility, clergy, and wealthy merchants far from the capital.
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He is recognized in horological history mainly for crafting classic French oignon watches in the Louis XIV style. His surviving timepieces typically feature robust full plate verge movements, ornately pierced and chased continental balance cocks, and single hand dials characteristic of the period. The intricate engravings and fire gilded cases highlight the high level of technical and artistic craftsmanship in French regional centres. Today, authentic timepieces signed “Maussion à Verdun” are rare, serving as valuable historical examples of provincial French horology at the turn of the 18th century.