L. Leroy & Cie Yellow Gold Dress Watch, Peseux 260 Movement

Dealer description — Oliver & Clarke

L. Leroy & Cie is a French manufacturer with real watchmaking prowess and credibility, but is lesser-known in the greater watch community. Founded in the late 18th Century in an era where another French brand, Breguet, was also conceived, L. Leroy & Cie enjoys a rich history with a number of horological accolades, including the most complicated timepiece in the world until it was dethroned by Patek Philippe's Calibre 89 in 1989. In fact, Breguet and Leroy have also been mildly-intertwined throughout history. Of course, both manufactures are French, and therefore have similar design language and finishing techniques over the course of their existence. The watch that we have here is another example of this intertwined history, but actually because of the movement within: the legendary Peseux 260. Designed specifically for Observatory chronometer competition trials to be as accurate as possible, the Cal. 260 is generally regarded as one of the finest time-only chronometer watch movements of the 20th century. It was produced for about 23 years with approximately 3,300 units made, and allegedly, never sold to the public. Instead, these were distributed to high-end brand such as Leroy, CYMA, and Breguet. The 260 is a rare example of a movement that is truly collectible, so, when you combined with a brand like Leroy, the result is something very, very special indeed. Dating to circa the early 1950s, this Calatrava-style dress watch features a 35mm yellow gold case with lovely semi-twisted lugs. It remains in strong condition overall with no major damage or wear given its age and retains a clear case number engraving on the snapback case. The satin silver dial inside exhibits patina throughout, with no signs of any previous refinishing or tampering. The alternating 'dart' and 'Arabic' indices and the script on the top half of the dial are all both 'raised' and well preserved. On the bottom half, there is an oversized subsidiary seconds register with 'concentric' finishing. All of the black printing is excellent and the dial presents beautifully. Of course, open it up and you'll find the P260 manually-wound movement, which features beautiful finishing and is signed L. Leroy & Cie. This piece, like all L. Leroy & Cie, is flat out rare. Praised by connoisseurs and those that know, this is a very rare opportunity to acquire a piece that simply do not surface on the open market with any regularity.