Swiss verge in a gold and enamel consular case Circa 1785

Gold and enamel verge with portrait of Voltaire
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A Swiss 18 carat gold and enamel verge pocket watch, circa 1785. Full plate gilt fusee movement, finely pierced and engraved bridge cock with steel coqueret, plain three-arm gilt balance with blue steel spiral hairspring, silver regulator dial with blue steel indicator, winding through the white enamel dial with Roman and Arabic numerals, decorative pierced gold hands. Three-color gold consular case, the back with a polychrome circular enamel bordered by a row of enamel faux split pearls, central oval portrait of Voltaire in profile within a gilt frame surrounded by foliage and musical motifs, the front bezel opens by depressing a button in the gold pendant.
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Diameter: 39 mm
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Signed: Dufalga a Genève
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Franςois-Marie Arouet known by his nom de plume Voltaire was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit, his attacks on the established Catholic Church and his advocacy of freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and separation of church and state.