French gold open faced ladies watch with chain Circa 1910

Gold open faced cylinder watch with matching key and chain
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A fine French 18 carat yellow gold open faced ladies pocket watch made by Leroy Lemonne in Pont Audemer, circa 1910. This watch has a mechanical key winding cylinder movement. The white enamel dial features slender black Roman numerals for the hours, a railway minute track, and delicate blued steel Breguet style hands. The timepiece is housed in a beautifully decorated round three body, 18 carat solid yellow gold open faced case with a grooved caseband, a cylindrical winding stem, and a sturdy round suspension bow. The reverse back cover is meticulously chased with a stylized grid pattern of fine leafy motifs, complemented by a solid 18 carat gold inner protective cuvette hand engraved with the maker’s signature Leroy Lemonne A Pont Audemer.
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The pocket watch is accompanied by an 18 carat yellow gold watch chain weighing 15.50 grams and measuring 35.5 cm in length, featuring round links alternating with fancy links, an attached winding key, and a T bar suspension clasp.
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Diameter: 33 mm
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Weight: 43.10 g
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Signed: Leroy Lemonne à Pont Audemer
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Leroy Lemonne was a regional French watchmaker and jeweller who operated a specialized workshop and retail shop in Pont Audemer, a historic town in Normandy, northern France. Active during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, firms like Leroy Lemonne typically sourced high quality mechanical ebauches—often reliable cylinder or lever movements from larger manufacturing hubs in France or Switzerland—and meticulously finished, cased, and adjusted them for a selective local clientele. Rather than operating as a massive industrial manufacturer, this maker functioned as a classic regional horologist, custom engraving the solid gold inner dust covers (cuvettes) of fine pocket watches as a hallmark of retail excellence and localized craftsmanship. Today, timepieces signed by Leroy Lemonne from this era are appreciated by collectors as authentic representations of early 20th century French provincial luxury and specialized regional watchmaking heritage.