Impressive French silver oignon watch with central winding Circa 1690

Silver verge oignon watch by Yver
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An impressive French silver open faced verge oignon pocket watch with central winding, circa 1690. Gold plated full plate movement, Egyptian pillars, chain and fusee, a three arm steel balance, the bridge decorated with a bird of prey protects the steel balance wheel with hairspring. White enamel dial with blue Roman hours, an inner minute track and a single hand. The leather covered case is decorated with studs. Movement signed.
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Diameter: 60 mm
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Weight: 167 g
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Signed: Yver à Angoulême
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As a Huguenot family, the Yver watchmakers from France had to flee to Amsterdam at the end of the 17th century. Abraham Yver worked as a watchmaker at the end of the 17th century. In Tardy’s notes it is reported about Yver that “his clocks had a good reputation throughout the kingdom of France”.
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Oignon watches were a French speciality during the last 30 years of Louis XIV’s reign and little beyond that. Oignons, with only one hand, are wound by the hand center, where a steel gear under the dial transmits the power to another one placed on the worm shaft. It is believed that there were workshops in France for the production of oignon ebauches, but so far not a single such ebauche has been found. The oignons’ large circuit board spacing makes the movements very clear and the viewer can easily see the individual parts and functions as if on a large model. The oignon is a robust, usable pocket watch that, in contrast to previous pocket and neck watches, indicates the time with sufficient accuracy.