Important Swiss French watch with eight complications Circa 1878

Gold full hunter cased watch
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An important 18 carat gold full hunter cased and numbered watch with eight complications, made by Le Roy & Fils and Louis Audemars, circa 1878. This full hunter cased watch was crafted from 18 Carat pink gold in waterdrop shape and is punched with the Louis Audemars punch. The complicated white enamel dial has black Arabic minute numerals, black Roman hour numerals, subsidiary dials for the number of the day at three o’clock, a moon phase and age dial at six o’clock, a dial for days of the week at nine o‘clock and a ‘real’ perpetual calendar with consideration of leap years at twelve o’clock and gold and blued steel hands. The movement of the greatest rarity and highest quality, has a precision lever escapement, eight complications, seconde morte with tandem winding, a minute repeater, moon phase with moon age and ‘real’ perpetual calendar with consideration of leap years. Cuvette signed and numbered
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Diameter: 56.5 mm
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Weight: 187 g
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Signed: LeRoy & Fils, H^gers de la Marine, Palais-Royal, 13 & 15 Gal^ie Montpensier Paris, 2111 Regent Street London
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The watch came with an extract from the archives and is described and illustrated in Hartmut Zantke ‘Louis Audemars, his Life and Work’, page 305. The extract from the archives confirms the extremely rare combination of complications and that the watch was finished by Le Roy.
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Le Roy & Fils
Le Roy & Fils. In 1785, the company was first established in Paris, France by Basile Charles Le Roy (1765-1839) at the Palais Royal, 13 & 15 Galerie Montpensier, which remained the family’s address for more than a century. Le Roy was much valued by the royal family and the court and was always welcome at the Louvre. He was famous for his perfect and marvellous clocks and wall clocks, which were very popular in a great number of palaces and stately homes all over Europe.
During the French Revolution from September 1793 to July 1794 Le Roy used the anagram EYLOR, because his real name was too closely associated with the French aristocracy. This signature is still present on the dials and plates of clocks created in that period.
Le Roy’s son Charles-Louis learned the art of watchmaking from his father and in 1828 became his partner. The company name changed to Le Roy & Fils, Horloger des Ducs de Chartres et de Bourbon puis Horloger du Roi et du Duc d’Orléans (clockmaker to the king and the Duke of Orléans). From 1835 on, the company expanded in all directions and was appointed Horlogers de la Marine. it was extremely successful for many years and at times had a staff of 50 employees.
In 1854, Le Roy & Fils set themselves up in London, to conquer the English court. A branch was opened in Regent Street, to be followed by another in New Bond Street. In 1863, Queen Victoria issued the ‘Royal Warrant of Appointment’ to Leroy & Sons, which entitled the company to use the highly coveted title ‘watchmakers to the Queen’. It was a great honour for a French company because Le Roy is the only non English house to carry that title.
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Audemars
Louis-Benjamin Audemars, born in 1782 in the Vallée de Joux, was apprenticed at 16 to the already famous Philippe Meylan, who had specialized in making watch movements. Audemars’ manual skills, keen perception and intelligence, impressed Meylan so much that he was offered a partnership.
In 1811 Meylan went to Geneva and made Audemars his successor. He left Audemars, the workshop which produced movements for other companies. The new company Meylan formed with Piguet became beside Le Roy, Breguet, Jürgensen, Charles Oudin, LeCoultre, Piguet Frères, Bautte, Piguet & Meylan, Patek, Frodsham, Dent, and Benson important customers for Audemars.
In 1832 Audemars decided to produce complete watches to sell under his name. Louis died a year later, leaving this challenge to his eight sons, who continued running and developing the Audemars company. Between 1832 and 1837, the company invented the keyless winding and setting system, known today as the Audemars system. Audemars catalogues list Breguet caliber watches, Breguet style repeaters with independent center seconds, demi Breguet calibers and Breguet anti shock devices (parachutes).
The Audemars company was soon recognized as one of the best. The London Exhibition of 1851 showed ten watches with different escapements and complications. The company became famous for its ultra complicated watches. Among the honours Audemars received were: London 1851 First Class Medal, New York 1853 Bronze Medal, Paris 1855 First Class Medal, London 1862 First Class Medal, Academie Nationale de France 1856-1863 First Class Honor Medal, Vienne 1873 Medal of Progress, Philadelphia 1876, Paris 1878 1ère Medailled’or, Croix de la Légion d’Honneur, Diplôme d’Honneur, Sidney 1879 First Class Medal, London 1880. Audemars was named Watchmaker to the Queen of England, a rare honour to be bestowed upon a foreigner.