Swiss gold and enamel pocket watch for Turkish market Circa 1840

Gold watch with an early crown winding mechanism by Blondel & Melly
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A fine and decorative Swiss 18 Carat gold and enamel open faced pocket watch with an early winding mechanism made for the Turkish market, circa 1840. Retailed by Leroy, the signature in Arabic characters.
Round-shaped case with scallop edged (12 lobes), the case back and bezel with en grisaille enamel on a black ground showing an alternation of flower motifs, allegories of Love, Arts, Music, Geometry, Gardening, etc. White enamel dial with Ottoman numerals and Breguet hands. Gilded brass movement with going barrel, cylinder escapement, keyless winding and key-setting, gilt-brass monometallic balance, blued steel flat hairspring.
Cuvette signed by the watchmaker, dial signed by the retailer. Accompanied by an 18 Carat yellow gold Breguet chain and a gold and enamel Breguet winding key decorated en suite.
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Diameter: 50.7 mm
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Signed: Blondel & Melly
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A grisaille (en grisaille), or grey painting, is a painting in which one does not apply natural colours but restricts oneself to depicting things in all possible shades of the same colour, usually grey or brown.
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The movement of this watch is fitted with an early winding system dating back to the early 1840s when different watchmakers were interested in this issue: Jean-Adrien Philippe (1815-1894) in Paris and later in Geneva, Louis-Benjamin Audemars and his sons or Antoine LeCoultre (1803-1881) in the Valllée de Joux.
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Blondel & Melly, Genevan watchmakers and merchants. Active between circa 1820 and 1850. Denis Blondel and Antoine Melly produced high-quality, richly decorated watches, some of which had horological complications essentially made for the Turkish market. During the 1840s they also signed miniature watches with a diameter of 16 mm, weighing 1.5 g. These watches are among the smallest ever made in the 19th century. They are mentioned on 15, Quai des Bergues, 27, rue de la Cité and rue Kléberg (1844). Their production is numbered between 13. 000 and 20.000. Denis Blondel continued to produce watches until the end of the 1860s, its production now reaches the figure of circa 22.500.