French gold quarter repeating à toc cylinder watch Circa 1790

Gold, enamel and diamond-set pair-cased repeater by Gregson
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A French 18 carat gold, enamel and diamond-set pair-cased quarter repeating à toc cylinder pocket watch, circa 1790. Gilt full plate movement, cylinder escapement, centrally mounted pierced and engraved balance bridge, diamond endstone. White enamel dial with Roman hours and Arabic minutes, diamond-set hands. Hinged stipple finish inner case, diamond-set bezels, applied diamond-set decorative bows and monogram B with green guilloché enamel and diamond-set surround, stamped DM, plunge à toc repeat in the bow, glazed outer case. Dial signed, movement signed and numbered, case numbered. Comes with a similarly green enamelled and diamond-set pin brooch.
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Diameter: 43 mm
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Signed: Gregson Hger du Roy
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Jean-Pierre Gregson, a Parisian watchmaker of English descent. He originally came from England. In 1776, he became a royal watchmaker in Paris and established himself in the Rue Dauphine, a parish of Saint-André-des-Arts. He learned his craft in London before moving to Paris in the second half of the 18th century. Gregson was a very capable master and one of the first watchmakers to use Lépine’s bar movement. In 1776, he was appointed as a court watchmaker, which soon became visible in the designation of his watches. If they were initially signed with ‘Gregson à Paris’, ‘Hger du Roy’ was added later. His significant position is also evident in the fact that he was appointed in 1786 as a member of a commission establishing a royal manufactory. The other members were the most famous watchmakers in France – Breguet, Berthoud and Lepaute.