Lot 67
67
A RARE ENAMELLED GOLD QUARTER REPEATING VIRGULE WATCH SET WITH MINIATURE PORTRAIT OF MARIA L

Details
A RARE ENAMELLED GOLD QUARTER REPEATING VIRGULE WATCH SET WITH MINIATURE PORTRAIT OF MARIA L
FOL, H'GER DU ROI, À PARIS, NO. 2602

The full plate movement with fusee and chain, bridge cock with coqueret, repeating à toc by depressing pendant, white enamel dial with arabic chapters, gold beetle and poker hands, the gold case constructed as a miniature frame with engine turned bezels enhanced with blue enamel and leafy paillons, enclosing a portrait, signed on movement and around the pillar plate, 1780's -- 50mm diam.

Lot Essay

Fol, père et fils were "renowned for their repeating watches." The son was third valet du chambre to Louis XVI, 1777-1784 and named watchmaker to the King of Poland in 1786.

The watch is an important early example of the Virgule escapement, made only a few years after it was introduced by Lepaute about 1780. The highly unusual case with the accompanying miniature suggests it was a special commission.