Swiss gold pair cased verge lady’s pocket watch Circa 1780

Gold and enamel verge watch by Frères Esquivillon & De Choudens
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Swiss gold and enamel pair cased verge lady’s watch, circa 1780. The watch features a gilded full plate movement with a verge escapement, a pierced and engraved balance cock with a masked foot, and a large ruby endstone. It is signed and numbered by Esquivillon & De Choudens. The white enamel dial displays Roman numerals and an outer Arabic minute track, also signed by Esquivillon & De Choudens. It includes two gold cases: a plain inner case and an outer case adorned with a polychrome enamel portrait of a female, a translucent blue enamel border, a guilloché background, applied paste set decoration, and a paste set bezel. The inner case bears the case maker’s mark JJC, topped by a crown.
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Diameter: 37 mm
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Signed: frés Esquivillon & De Choudens
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The movement is operational, but the minute hand is loose. There are minor chips near the opening lever. The inner case has dents, and the inner bezel is stuck to the movement; the glass is also loose. The outer case shows damage to the translucent enamel, and there is discolouration and some missing stones. The inner case does not close properly, and there are signs of repair at the base of the stem.
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Esquivillon & De Choudens operated in Geneva and Paris from 1765 to 1830. The Geneva watchmaker Jacques De Choudens (1728-1801) established a workshop with the Esquivillon brothers: Joseph (1714-1798), Jean François (1733-1813), and Gédéon-François (1717-1799). They specialise in crafting high quality verge pocket watches. The timepieces were typically marked with Les Frères Esquivillon & De Choudens, but also bore the signatures Esquivillon & De Choudens and Les Frères Esquivillon.