French repeating verge watch for the Turkish market Circa 1800

Gold, enamel, and pearl-set watch by Julien Le Roy
–
A Swiss gold, enamel, and pearl-set quarter repeating verge watch made for the Turkish market, circa 1800. The gilded full-plate movement features a verge escapement, a decoratively pierced and engraved balance bridge, a regulation plate with Turkish numerals, a fusee and chain, cylindrical pillars, and a bell mounted to the inside case back. The movement and gilt metal dust cap are signed Jln Le Roy à Paris, no. 775. The white enamel dial showcases Turkish numerals, an outer minute ring, and blued steel moon hands, signed Jln Le Roy à Paris. The gold case has restored enamel decoration on the back, featuring a polychrome enamel painted bouquet of flowers bordered by pearls beneath a classical urn on a pedestal heightened with semi-translucent green and blue enamels against a translucent red enamel background over chevron-engraved decoration. Both bezels are pierced and engraved with scrolling flowers and foliage, heightened with translucent blue and red enamel.
–
Diameter: 51 mm
–
Signed: Jln Le Roy à Paris
–
The movement is running smoothly and in a clean, refreshed condition. The repetitive work is engaging; however, there is no control over the release of its power. Nevertheless, if the pendant is very slowly released by the thumb, then it will accurately strike out the time as shown on the dial. The dial has chips and nibbles around the edge but otherwise appears to be in good overall condition. The case has been completely restored, with hard enamel on the case back. The bezels have small chips, losses, and repairs to the enamel. No maker’s marks or numbers are seen beneath the bell.
–
Julien Le Roy is one of the clockmakers who contributed most to the progress and the reputation of French watch- and clockmaking. Born in Tours on August 6, 1686, and died in 1759 in Paris. He came to Paris in 1699. In 1713 he achieved his master’s degree and in the following years, he became a jury member of the Paris Guild of Watchmakers. Later, Le Roy became director of the Société des Arts de Genève and, in 1739, Court Watchmaker (French Horloger Ordinaire du Roi) under Louis XV, he had his private quarters in the Louvre. He improved almost all branches of clockmaking and many important inventions in the realm of time measurement are owed to him. In 1717, Julien Le Roy presented an equation clock to the Royal Academy of Sciences which showed the true time, the place of the sun and its decline. His most important discoveries concerned watch mechanisms. The adjustable ‘potence’ for the verge escape wheel considerably improved the escapement’s functioning and the steel end-piece (coqueret) which allowed oil to be retained in the balance pivots in order to diminish frictional force, was quickly adopted by other watchmakers. He was the inventor of dumb repeating watches too, in 1740, he created a new arrangement that allowed the area allotted to the repeating work to be enlarged. This invention, called ‘à bâte levée’, was also adopted by his fellow clockmakers. In 1755 he invented a small anchor escapement used as a regulator for the repeating train. He contributed to the Encyclopédie by writing several articles on clockmaking together with his son Jean-Baptiste, the Academician. Le Roy ran his workshop in the Rue de Harlay in Paris until his death. Examples of his timepieces can be found in various important museums around the world, such as the Louvre and the Victoria and Albert Museum.