English chronometer watch for the Chinese market Circa 1815

Gold watch with detent escapement  
–
An extremely rare English 18K gold open faced centre seconds chronometer made for the Chinese market, circa 1815. Retailed by William Eley, London. Plain case, London punches for 1815, case maker’s mark WJ, the dome is also 18K gold with matching punches and matching maker’s mark. Extremely rare Fleurier splendour chronometer movement, detent escapement, helical hairspring, screwed chatons, diamond endstone, intricately florally engraved fire-gilt main plate and bridges. White enamel dial with Roman hours, outer minute divisions, Arabic quarter-hour numerals, 1/5 seconds register and pink gold hands.
Movement signed and numbered.
–
Diameter: 58 mm
–
Weight: 155 g
–
Signed: Breguet a Paris
–
Fleurier calibres with detent escapement are extremely rare. Only a few of these calibres are known, including those of Ilbery and Jaquet-Droz.
–
Abraham-Louis Breguet was born in Neuchâtel, Switzerland in 1747 and died in 1823 at the age of 77. At age 15, he left for Paris where he studied various disciplines, mathematics, astrology, horology, etc. He began his watchmaking career by marrying a wealthy heiress and establishing his first watch factory in Paris. He hired the most skilled and renowned horologers and master watchmakers. They realized his brilliant and innovative ideas. In 1786, he moved to London and set up a workshop where high-quality pocket watches and chronometers were manufactured. In 1789, he returned to Paris, where he remained until 1793 when he fled for political reasons. With the arrival of Louis XVIII, he became in charge of the ‘Centre Horloger de Versailles’ and was appointed ‘Horloger de la Marine’, he further entered the Academy of Sciences, and the King personally imposes on him the ‘Legion of Honour’. His innovations and improvements shocked the already existing watchmaking industry.
–
The Eley family were silversmiths in London.