Swiss 18K yellow gold half hunter pocket watch Circa 1899

Gold half hunting cased keyless lever watch
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A fine Swiss 18 carat yellow gold half hunter pocket watch made by L. Leroy and Cie in Paris, circa 1899. This watch has a mechanical crown winding gilded brass movement with a lever escapement, a bimetallic balance wheel, and a blued steel Breguet hairspring, signed L. Leroy and Cie. The white enamel dial shows black Roman numerals for the hours, an outer minute track with Arabic five minute numerals from 5 to 60, a subsidiary seconds dial at 6 o’clock, and gold pear shaped hands, signed L. Leroy and Cie. The timepiece is housed in a polished round three body, 18 carat solid yellow gold half hunter case stamped with a French horsehead assay hallmark. It features smooth polished covers, a fluted winding crown, a sturdy round suspension bow, and a solid 18 carat gold inner cuvette engraved Horlogers de la Marine 7 Bd de la Madeleine formerly 13 15 Palais Royal Paris.
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Diameter: 49 mm
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Weight: 91.6 g
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Signed: L. Leroy & Cie Paris
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L. Leroy and Cie
The French watchmaking house L Leroy and Cie was renowned from the late nineteenth century into the twentieth century as the specialist in marine precision chronometers and intricate watch complications. Based at the prestigious Boulevard de la Madeleine in Paris, the firm gained immense international fame as the official and elite supplier to the French Navy under the title Horlogers de la Marine. Although the owner purchased the workshops and archives of their long standing competitor Le Roy et Fils in 1845, the brand maintained its unique technical identity under Louis Leroy’s leadership. The firm’s supreme mastery was demonstrated globally at the turn of the century with the creation of the legendary Leroy Dynamic, which stood for decades as the most complicated portable timepiece ever constructed in horological history.