Watch by Jean-Antoine Lépine, France, 1770–1800 — view 1 of 2 — View 1 of 2 · Image: © 2018 Musée du Louvre / Département des Objets d'art du Moyen Age, de la Renaissance et des temps modernes · original image source (opens another website in a new tab)

View 1 of 2 · Image: © 2018 Musée du Louvre / Département des Objets d'art du Moyen Age, de la Renaissance et des temps modernes · original image source (opens another website in a new tab)

Pocket Watches · Watch

Watch by Jean-Antoine Lépine, France, 1770–1800

DocumentedDocumented from the holding institution's catalogue record.

Maker / attribution: Jean-Antoine Lépine (Horloger)
Date: 1770–1800
Historical period: Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)
Country of origin: France
Place: Paris, France
Object type: Watch
Materials / technique: diamond
Dimensions: diameter 4 cm; thickness 1,8 cm
Holding institution: Musée du Louvre, Paris
Accession / object no.: OA 8488
Credit line: Musée du Louvre, Département des Objets d'art du Moyen Age, de la Renaissance et des temps modernes
Catalogue title (original): Montre ronde avec un portrait en buste de femme (French)

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Record summary

Held and catalogued by Musée du Louvre, Paris (object number OA 8488), this is a watch by Jean-Antoine Lépine, made in Paris, France, dated 1770–1800. The Atlas places it in the Precision & Scientific Horology period (1750 – 1850) of its Pocket Watches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: diamond. Recorded dimensions: diameter 4 cm; thickness 1,8 cm. The record is illustrated with 2 photographs.

Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.

Catalogue description

Catalogue description — Musée du Louvre (French)

Montre ronde avec sur le fond du boîtier un médaillon peint en émail d'un portrait en buste de femme coiffée d'un chapeau bleu, vêtue d'une robe rouge à l'encolure bordée de fourrure. Le médaillon est entouré d'un rang et d'une guirlande de roses de diamants. Sur le pourtour du fond : une guirlande en ors de plusieurs couleurs. Les lunettes sont ornées de torsades en or vert. Cadran en émail blanc, chiffres romains pour les heures, arabes pour les minutes ; aiguilles ornées de roses de diamants. Mouvement avec un échappement à roue de rencontre.

Shown in the original language of the source catalogue. An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.

Dating and period as catalogued (French)

Epoque / période : Louis XVI (1774-1792) (Occident->époque moderne = Ancien Régime->dynastie des Bourbons) · · Date de création/fabrication : vers 1770 - 1800

Shown in the original language of the source catalogue. An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.

Materials and techniques as catalogued (French)

Matériau : or (de couleurs) · Matériau : laiton (doré) · Matériau : diamant · Technique : techniques métal (orfèvrerie) · Technique : émail peint (techniques métal->émaillé = émaillage = émail = émaux)

Shown in the original language of the source catalogue. An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.

Inscriptions & marks

Signature : ; Mouvement signé : Lépine/AParis/6669 (authenticité incertaine)

Provenance

collection Jules-René Olivier (1855-1933), horloger-collectionneur ; legs de sa sœur Marie-Julie Olivier, non inventoriée ; comité du 24 janvier 1935 ; conseil du 5 février 1935 ; décret du 4 août 1935 ; déposée au musée des Arts décoratifs le 4 novembre 1935 ; retour au musée du Louvre, arrêté du 5 février 1982.

Historical context

Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)

Harrison solves longitude; Mudge invents the lever; Breguet's Paris workshop defines the modern watch.

From 1750 to 1850 the watch became a precision instrument. Mudge's lever escapement, the cylinder escapement, Lépine's thin bar calibre, Breguet's innovations (overcoil, tourbillon, perpétuelle) and the pocket chronometer of Arnold and Earnshaw all date from this period, while verge watches remained common in cheaper production.

Read the period in the timeline More pocket watches from this period Earlier: Early Modern Horology

Atlas type guide

Hunter, half-hunter and open-face watches

In the nineteenth century the pocket watch case settled into a few standard forms. The hunter (French savonnette) has a hinged front lid protecting the crystal — reputedly for riders who could not risk broken glass — and is opened by pressing the crown or a push-piece. The half-hunter has a small window in the lid so the hands can be read when closed. The open-face (lépine) watch has no front cover, with the crown at 12; hunters normally carry the crown at 3.

Case types also changed with winding: key-wound watches gave way to keyless (stem-wound) mechanisms after Adrien Philippe's and others' designs of the 1840s, with pendant setting or lever setting.

What to look for

Crown position relative to the seconds dial: at 3 for hunters, at 12 for open-face watches.
Spring-loaded front cover with a push-piece in the pendant.
Half-hunter chapter ring enamelled on the lid.
Key holes in the inner dome (cuvette) versus keyless winding.

Dating clues

Keyless winding spread after c. 1850 and became standard by c. 1890.
English hallmarks inside gold and silver cases give the year of assay.

General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.

Mechanisms mentioned

No escapement or complication is named in the source record. See the encyclopedia for how such pieces work.

Record completeness

Maker or attributionRecorded
DateRecorded
Place or countryRecorded
MaterialsRecorded
DimensionsRecorded
Narrative descriptionRecorded
Inscriptions / marksRecorded
ProvenanceRecorded
Several photographsRecorded

Editorial status: Documented — facts as published by the source; not independently verified by Atlas editors.

Explore further

Sources & image rights

Record source: Musée du Louvre, Paris (opens another website in a new tab).

Image rights: © GrandPalaisRmn / Musée du Louvre — permission required (opens another website in a new tab).

Images are hosted by the Atlas for study and credited to their owner. Rights holders may request correction, credit changes or removal, or grant permission, via the editorial office.

Cite this record

"Watch by Jean-Antoine Lépine, France, 1770–1800." Musée du Louvre, Paris, OA 8488. Catalogue record in The Horology Atlas, WatchMuseum.org, https://atlas.watchmuseum.org/museum/watch-by-jean-antoine-lepine-france-17701800-98d71a.