Lot Essay
Honoré Pons, known as Pons-de-Paul, was born circa 1780 in Grenoble, the son of a musical instrument maker. He moved to Rue de la Huchette, Paris (where he was possibly apprenticed to Lepaute) and must quickly have established a fine reputation as in 1807 he was singled out by M. de Champagny, the Minister of the Interior, to revive the clock making industry of St Nicolas d'Aliermont near Dieppe. This was no mean task but it appears that Pons was remarkably successful. He formed the clockmakers into a Guild called the Fabrique d'Horlogerie de Saint-Nicolas d'Aliermont, which was directed by him to co-ordinate the industry. Their basic income came from making blancs roulants or unfinished movements which were sold to be finished off by clockmakers in Paris. By 1819 the fabrique d'Horlogerie gained two silver medals at the Paris exhibition for these blancs; one to the town in general as an encouragement and the other to Pons personally. He won another silver medal in 1823 and a gold in 1834, by which time he had played a crucial part in establishing France's clock export trade. For his services to French horology he was made a member of the Legion d'Honneur. See Charles Allix Carriage Clocks, Antique Collectors' Club, London 1974, pp. 88-93.