French Gold and Enamel Repeater with Chatelaine, circa 1780

Dealer description — Pieces of Time

A fine late 18 th Century French quarter repeating cylinder with calendar in a gold and enamel consular case and matching chatelaine. Full plate gilt fusee movement, signed and numbered gilt dust cover pierced for the endstone and regulator. Finely pierced and engraved bridge cock, diamond endstone in a polished steel setting, plain three arm gilt balance with blue steel spiral hairspring. Blued regulator dial with gold indicator. Polished steel cylinder, large steel escape wheel, pivots with screwed in jewelling. Push pendant dumb quarter repeating on blocks in the case. Signed white enamel dial with central day of the month calendar in red Arabic numerals. Black Arabic numerals for the hours and quarter minutes, blue steel calendar hand, gold beetle and poker hands. Raised brass edge to the dial signed “Gregson”. Fine and unusual gold and enamel consular case with hinged bezel and back cover both set within a recess of the body of the case with no discernable sign of a hinge. Opening either of them reveals the hinges to be set close to the movement. The small crescent of the bezels beyond the hinges moves below the recess in the body of the case. Two small recessed pins at three o’clock to open them independently. The bezels decorated with white and dark blue translucent champleve enamel. Oval cartouche of a floral bouquet finely painted in polychrome enamel. Border of dark blue translucent champleve enamel representing a ribbon tied in a bow at twelve. Fine matching chatelaine, the gilt clip faced with gold and enamel floral scene. Similarly decorated cartouche attached to the clip by a hinge. The watch secured to this by a swivel sprung gold clip with threaded safety collar. Two small gold and enamel cartouches also hang from the clip, each with a matching double sided gold and enamel key, one lacking the shaft. Recent black morocco covered fitted display box. Lined in red velvet, the chatelaine visible through the glazed lid, easel stand.