An attractive French gilt brass humpback travel clock, L. Leroy & Cie, circa 1900.

Description

Breguet

This compact travel clock is attractive to many because of its beautifully finished yet restrained arched case. This shape was introduced as early as around 1820 by the famous French clockmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet, who used it on some very exclusive and complicated pendules d’officier. Remarkably, however, in later travel clock production this elegant shape has hardly been emulated. In England, there is a small exclusive group of clocks with these “humpback” cases, made notably by the firm Jump in the last decades of the 19th century. In France, it was the firm L. Leroy & Cie that was responsible for a small group of clocks of which this one is one. Other than the size, the clocks are identical in appearance with the semicircular profile on the side and the distinctive oval handle. Because of their elegant yet understated design these clocks fit into almost any interior.

L. Leroy & Cie

The 5-cm silvered dial has Arabic numerals and is signed in the centre L. Leroy & Cie, 7 Bd. de la Madeleine Paris. The “spade hands” are made of blued steel. The dial is slightly recessed in a guilloche engraved silvered mask.

Swiss lever escapement

The movement is driven by a spring barrel and is of eight day duration. It is regulated by a platform escapement with Swiss lever escapement combined with a bi-metal balance. The backplate is signed L. Leroy & Cie Paris 21497.

Humpback

The arched gilt brass case is also numbered 21497 and is surmounted by a handle. The front has a beveled glass panel. The back has a solid door and the whole is raised on flat round feet. Because of its arched shape this type of case is usually referred to as “Humpback”.