Anon. A very fine, rare and highly attractive 18K gold, enamel, pearl and diamond-set hunter case "médaillon montre à tact" cylinder watch

UNSIGNED, ATTRIBUTED TO LE ROY, PARIS, NO. 776, CIRCA 1810

Details

Anon. A very fine, rare and highly attractive 18K gold, enamel, pearl and diamond-set hunter case "médaillon montre à tact" cylinder watch
Unsigned, attributed to Le Roy, Paris, no. 776, circa 1810
Cal. 17''' gilt-finished cylinder movement with central barrel, gold cuvette with aperture for the eccentric white enamel dial, Breguet numerals, circular case, front cover with white gold and diamond-set revolving arrow-shaped hour pointer on translucent royal blue enamel over engine-turned sunburst decoration, gold reeded bezels, gold fluted band set with 24 pearls alternating in size for touch within gold reeded frame, back cover with translucent royal blue enamel over engine-turned sunburst background, three gold chain pendant, case numbered 776 and with casemakers' initials JS
56 mm. diam.

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Lot Essay

The montre à tact or tactful watch was invented by Abraham Louis Breguet in the late 1790s during an epoch when it was unseemly to read the time in public. The "à tact" system helped to tell the time in polite society without taking the watch out of your pocket and possibly offending your host or hostess. It is also referred to as the watch for the blind as the exposed pointer and markers on the band allow the wearer to determine the time by touch.

The present "à tact" watch is much in the style of the famous Le Roy located at Palais Royal in Paris who followed Breguet in the production of these exclusive timepieces

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