731 - Daniel de St Leu, gentleman's verge pocket watch with quarter repeater for the Ottoman market

Daniel de St Leu, gentleman's verge pocket watch with quarter repeater for the Ottoman market Case, outer case and movement of brass, 2nd half of the 18th century, the outer case overlaid with tortoiseshell. Verge pocket watch with quarter repeater for the Ottoman market, gentleman's pocket watch in pair case, Daniel de St Leu, London. Dust cover signed "Dan. De St Leu", "Watch Maker to her Majesty", "London" and "3828", movement plate signed identically, there with abbreviated "Watch Mar" and the same number "3828". Inner case with pendant and bow, glazed bezel with strongly domed glass and engraved zigzag band, case band engraved with foliage, scrollwork and rosettes in medallions, with sound apertures, case back with engraved radiating star, inside the bell of the repeater. Outer case with tortoiseshell band, inlaid with gold-coloured pins (piqué) and with gold-coloured framed sound apertures, hinge and push piece, without glass, lined inside with dark red velvet. White enamel dial with black Arabic numerals in Ottoman script, minute track with dots and five-minute numerals, inscribed "LONDON", gold-coloured hands, the hour hand pierced, the minute hand tapering. Gold-coloured full-plate verge movement with chain and fusee, balance cock engraved and pierced with scrollwork, silver-coloured regulator disc with Ottoman numerals, key winding. With gold-coloured chain with two keys. Dial repaired at the edge between 2 and 3 o'clock, otherwise in good condition commensurate with age. Movement running, without guarantee, service recommended. Outer case with tortoiseshell overlay, worked before 1947; export from the European Union only with a CITES re-export certificate. D. 67 mm (with outer case), D. 55 mm (watch), H. 33 mm (with outer case), weight 236 g (with outer case and chain). Daniel de St Leu, of Swiss origin, is recorded in London from 1753, worked first at the "Golden Head" in Cloak Lane and around 1790 at 38 Cornhill; in 1765 he was appointed watchmaker to Queen Charlotte, consort of George III, and held this title, which his movement signatures also bear, until 1797. In the 18th century London watchmakers such as de St Leu, George and Edward Prior or Markwick Markham supplied wealthy customers in the Ottoman Empire in large numbers; these export watches for the Turkish market have enamel dials with Turkish hour and minute numerals, multiple cases and complications such as the repeater, which strikes the hours and quarters on a bell on demand. The verge movement, driven via chain and fusee, was the common construction of the pocket watch in the 18th century: the verge escapement regulates the rate of the balance, chain and fusee compensate for the diminishing force of the mainspring and ensure an even drive, and the pierced, engraved balance cock above the balance is the ornament of such movements. On this watch an outer case with tortoiseshell overlay and piqué inlays of metal pins protects the engraved inner case.