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Lot Essay
This particular watch is listed in La Dynastie des Le Roy Horlogers du Roi, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Tours, as having been produced between 1732 and 1733. It is thought to be the earliest à toc watch known to-day. The pierced floral decorated cock is characteristic for Le Roy watches made before 1745.
Julien Le Roy, born in Tours in 1686, developed, at an early age, a gift for mechanical work and constructed a clock at the age of thirteen. At the age of seventeen, he went to Paris and became an apprentice of Le Bon. It is said that he learned so quickly that he started and finished a repeating watch in less than eight days. In 1739, at the age of fifty-three, he was made Horloger du Roi. Julien Le Roy was a celebrated maker who raised the status of French watchmaking by the perfection of his work and design.
He made the first 'thin' repeating watches by inventing in 1732 the à toc repeating. He removed the bell, allowing the hammers to strike on the case.
Some of his watches are fitted with a sourdine or 'deaf piece', a device which appears to have been invented by George Graham and which became very popular with French makers. Upon pressing, this silent repeat push-piece keeps the hammer off the bell and each blow can be felt by the finger. It not only enables those who have defective hearing or sight to tell the time by touch but also allows one to consult the watch without disturbing anyone.
Julien Le Roy, born in Tours in 1686, developed, at an early age, a gift for mechanical work and constructed a clock at the age of thirteen. At the age of seventeen, he went to Paris and became an apprentice of Le Bon. It is said that he learned so quickly that he started and finished a repeating watch in less than eight days. In 1739, at the age of fifty-three, he was made Horloger du Roi. Julien Le Roy was a celebrated maker who raised the status of French watchmaking by the perfection of his work and design.
He made the first 'thin' repeating watches by inventing in 1732 the à toc repeating. He removed the bell, allowing the hammers to strike on the case.
Some of his watches are fitted with a sourdine or 'deaf piece', a device which appears to have been invented by George Graham and which became very popular with French makers. Upon pressing, this silent repeat push-piece keeps the hammer off the bell and each blow can be felt by the finger. It not only enables those who have defective hearing or sight to tell the time by touch but also allows one to consult the watch without disturbing anyone.