Repeater watch

Case maker: I. T. French

ca. 1755

Not on view

Julien Le Roy, probably the most inventive clockmaker in eighteenth century France, was appointed clockmaker to Louis XV (1710–1774), an honor that allowed him a workshop in the Louvre. The movement of the watch strikes hours and quarters on the back of the case instead of on a bell. This type of repeater, called a dumb repeater, allowed the user to tell the time unobtrusively by counting the vibrations of the case. The style of the case, with its beautiful opaque-enameled flowers that seem to float on an engraved gold ground, was fashionable among Parisian makers of watchcases and gold boxes about the middle of the eighteenth century.

Artwork Details

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

Exhibition History

Title: Repeater watch
Maker: Watchmaker: Julien Le Roy (French, Tours 1686–1759 Paris)
Maker: Case maker: I. T. (French)
Date: ca. 1755
Culture: French, Paris
Medium: Gold, enamel
Dimensions: Diameter: 1 5/8 in. (4.1 cm)
Classification: Horology
Credit Line: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
Object Number: 17.190.1566
Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

More Artwork

A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.

Watch, Julien Le Roy French, Gold, enamel, copper, French, Paris — Watch
Julien Le Roy
18th century

Mantel clock, Julien Le Roy French, Chantilly soft-paste porcelain mounted on gilt bronze, flowers of soft- and hard-paste porcelain; clock face of white enameled metal, French, Paris with French, Chantilly case — Mantel clock
Julien Le Roy
Chantilly
ca. 1745–49

Mantel clock (pendule de cheminée), Julien Le Roy French, Case: gilded and patinated bronze on a base of oak veneered with ebony with gilded-bronze mounts; Dial: white enamel with black numerals; Movement: brass and steel, French, Paris — Mantel clock (pendule de cheminée)
Multiple artists/makers
ca. 1757–60

Wall clock (pendule en cartel), Jean Godde l'aîné French, Case: gilded bronze, oak, and tortoiseshell on brass marquetry on oak; Dial: white enamel and gilded brass with blued-steel hands; Movement: brass and steel, French, Paris — Wall clock (pendule en cartel)
Jean Godde l'aîné
Charles Cressent
ca. 1740–45

Snuffbox, Mathieu Coiny fils, Gold, enamel, gem stones, French, Paris — Snuffbox
Mathieu Coiny fils
Jean-Baptiste Beckers
1759–60

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.