French gold quarter repeating verge by Berthoud Circa 1780

Rare gold quarter repeating verge watch
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A rare French 18K gold and pearl set open faced quarter repeating verge pocket watch, circa 1780. Gilt full plate fusee movement, a finely pierced and engraved bridge cock with polished steel coqueret, plain three-arm gilt balance with a blue steel spiral hairspring, silver regulator disc with blue steel indicator.
White enamel dial with black Arabic numerals and gold beetle & poker hands. Solid plain case, both bezels set with half pearls, engraved nobleman’s es­cutcheon on the back, a push pendant for the repeating on a bell, a sprung front bezel opened by turning the gold pendant which is very rare, winding through the dial. The former property of a nobleman.
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Diameter: 41 mm
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Weight: 66 g
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Signed: Berthoud à Paris
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Ferdinand Berthoud was born in 1727 and died in 1807. He was a Swiss watchmaker and scientist. In 1753 Berthoud was awarded the title of Master watchmaker in Paris. He succeeded in the pioneering work of Henry Sully. At the king’s insistence, he travelled to England to view the chronometers of John Harrison. Ferdinand Berthoud settled in Paris on April 16th, 1745 at the age of 18, a move that enabled him to perfect his knowledge of the watch and clock-making profession. He rapidly acquired a reputation for technical competence and achieved recognition for his innovations in his field. On December 13th, 1760, Berthoud submitted to the French Royal Academy of Science a Mémoire sur les Principes de construction d’une Horloge de Marine, the famous Marine Chronometer No. 1, whose construction was completed at the start of 1761. In 1770 he was appointed Horloger du Roi (Horologist-Mechanic by appointment to the King and the Navy). Berthoud was also named a member of the Institute right from the time of its creation in 1795. He in the meanwhile became a member of the Royal Society on February 16th, 1764. He is regarded as one of the inventors of the marine chronometer that served to determine the longitude at sea necessary for navigation.
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Reference 0020000