French gold and enamel open faced verge watch Circa 1790

Gold and enamel verge watch by Vauchez
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A French gold and enamel open faced verge pocket watch, circa 1790. The watch features a gilded full plate movement, signed Vauchez à Paris, with a verge escapement, a plain three arm balance, a decoratively pierced and engraved balance bridge, a silver regulation plate, and a fusee and chain with turned pillars. It has a white enamel dial with Roman numerals, an Arabic outer minute ring, an aperture for winding, and gold hands. The gold case features a case back centred with a polychrome enamel painted scene depicting a lady painting a statue, incorporating translucent pink enamel over an engine turned ground, and a bezel adorned with applied multicolour gold decoration. The top of the pendant is stamped with SG and includes an indistinct number on the side.
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Diameter: 42 mm
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Signed: Vauchez á Paris
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Movement runs smoothly, with the hands setting correctly. There are scuffs and scratches on the backplate. A chip is on the dial at the edge between 12 and 1 o’clock, alongside a hairline crack extending from the same area towards the dial’s centre. The case’s enamel scene on the back is made of hard enamel; however, the translucent background appears a little thick (i.e. the engine turned background isn’t coming through very strongly), and there is a slightly untidy rim between the edge of the enamel scene and the decorative band beneath, possibly indicating that the scene has been reenamelled at some point. A few of the applied dots on the decorative bezels are missing. The pendant features a slit on the side and is indistinctly numbered.
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Daniel-François Vaucher moved from Fleurier to Paris in 1760, where he became a master watchmaker; he likely also worked initially as a terrinier (pottery maker). In 1767, he is listed as a watchmaker. He operated a watch workshop on the Rue St-Pierre-aux-Boeufs in Paris from 1769 to 1790. He signed his watches Vauchez à Paris. He was probably good friends with Ferdinand Berthoud and owes his career as a watchmaker to him. His wife and children remained in Fleurier, but later various children moved to Paris or worked there for several years, including Samuel-Henri-Andre, Jean-Henri-David, François-Daniel-Abraham, Jonas-Frédéric-Louis, and Jean-Jacques. Jean-Henri-David continued the business in Paris from 1790 onwards. Excellent watches from this family were predominantly signed Vauchez en la Cité. Daniel Vaucher was also involved in the necklace affair (l’affaire du collier de la Reine).
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From a very touching letter dated 1826, it is known that Samuel-Henri-Andre and François-Daniel-Abraham lived in poverty in Paris and were nearly blind. They subsisted on the pension they received from their nephews DuBois, Bovet, and Vaucher.
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Various watches from Vauchez à Paris and Vauchez en la Cité can be found in collections of museums across Europe, such as the Musée du Louvre in Paris. Due to the letters used by Vauchez, it is possible that it is not a “z” but rather an r.