French gold mystery miniature portrait pendant watch Circa 1810

Gold pendant watch with virgule escapement
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A very fine and extremely rare, 18K gold, mystery pendant watch with a portrait miniature of a gentleman and virgule escapement, circa 1810. The lower case contains the movement concealed behind a finely painted portrait miniature of a gentleman wearing a black coat and white shirt and cravat, hinged back cover, the upper case housing the dial, hinged pendant loop and gilt brass cuvette. White enamel dial with Arabic numerals, outer minute divisions and blued steel Breguet hands. A gilt-brass movement, going barrel with a cover secured by two screws, maltese cross stop work, the second wheel geared to an elongated steel pinion which passes through the gold tube into the upper case to operate the hands via the hour and minute wheel behind the dial, virgule escapement, three-arm brass balance, flat balance spring, polished steel endplate, index regulator with a scale engraved on the backplate. Miniature signed by Thibault.
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Dimensions: 69 x 44 mm
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Signed: Aimée Thibault  French
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Very few of these early mystery watches are known. The movement itself is housed in the larger lowercase and drives the hands by means of a long steel pinion, one end of which is geared to the second wheel, and the other end is geared to the hour and minute wheels which are housed in the upper case behind the dial. This watch also has the rare feature of a virgule escapement. a frictional rest escapement which impulses in one direction only. The fine portrait miniature is by the French artist Aimée Thibault whose portrait miniature of the King of Rome (RF30815) is now in the Louvre Museum, Paris.