French 18 carat gold Seconde Morte pocket watch Circa 1835

Gold pocket watch with open face by Le Roy & Fils
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A fine, open faced French pocket watch with Seconde Morte, formerly part of the Le Roy collection 1828-1980, circa 1835. Exquisite movement quality with solid gold wheels, stripe finish on the Bridges, two barrels, and special armatures. Engine-turned, à-goutte 18K gold case with a case number, signed and numbered dust cover, and a slider on the edge of the case to stop the independent second. Enamel dial (hairline crack), Roman radial hours, outer minutes/seconds track, centre second hand, and filigree Breguet hands.
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Diameter: 48 mm
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Weight: 81 g
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Signed: Le Roy & Fils Paris
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Le Roy et Fils, French watch manufacturer
The Parisian company Leroy, also known as LeRoy, was founded by Bazile-Charles Leroy and renamed Le Roy et Fils in 1828. The son, Louis-Charles Le Roy, became a co-owner of the firm. From 1829, the company worked as a court watchmaker for the Dukes of Bourbon and Chartres. Louis-Charles sold the firm to Georges Casimir Halley des Fontaines in 1845 but kept the name.
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Despite several changing owners, among whom there was a Le Roy again from 1879, but from a completely different family, the company’s name, which was only closed in 1980, was retained. Le Roy et Fils is known for high-quality pocket watches and marine chronometers. 1771. Louis Leroy became a watchmaker at this company in 1879, which he took over with Jules Halley des Fontaines; he changed the name of this company to L. Leroy & Cie . Louis’ brothers, Léon Leroy, joined him in 1895 and became partners in 1914.
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Seconde morte, Dead seconds.
A hand that jumps forward when the second has elapsed. Breguet used the expression seconde d’un coup or “sudden second”. Generally, the jump of a hand is a distinctive feature of a quartz watch. In mechanical watchmaking, this “function” is a technical feat.