French rare diamond set skeletonized verge watch Circa 1780

Pink gold double glazed key winding verge watch
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A fine and rare French pink gold open faced skeletonized pocket watch set with diamonds, circa 1780. This watch features a mechanical keywinding gilt full plate movement with a verge escapement, chain and fusee, an endstone on the balance, and an exquisitely silvered floral pierced and chased cover over the balance cock, visible through the glazed caseback. The white enamel dial shows elegant black Breguet style Arabic numerals for the hours, an outer minute track, blued steel Breguet style hands, and a winding aperture near 2 o’clock. The timepiece is housed in a round, two body pink gold case with a prominent lateral hinge and double glazed front and back covers, framed by bezels set with a border of small diamonds.
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Diameter: 43 mm
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Signed: No name
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During the late 18th century, Parisian watchmakers popularized double glazed, skeletonized cases that displayed the intricate gilded and silvered filigree of verge movements from the back. These luxurious timepieces were crafted as high fashion status symbols for European nobility and aristocrats, often bordered with diamond set bezels and executed in warm pink gold. The combination of delicate Breguet numerals, gem set ornamentation, and openwork movement architecture represents the pinnacle of decorative French horology from the Louis XVI period.