Description: Gilt brass, full plate, front wound quarter repeating à toc movement (49mm), verge escapement, three armed plain balance, spiral steel spring with silver regulator dial, fusee and chain. Small cock with geometrical decoration and steel cockerel. Rim of front plate decorated with geometrical pillar like figures. Backplate engraved ‘De Belle Paris’. White enameled copper dial with Arabic numerals and signed ‘De Belle A Paris’. Dial fixed by one screw at 12. Mismatched Lépine style hands.
Additional Info:
Jean – François De Belle was situated at the Rue Saint – Honoré in Paris. He acquired some notoriety and his name figures in many almanachs of the period. During the French Revolution his notoriety allows him to be part of the jury judging the mechanical adaptation in watches for the decimal time introduced the 24. November 1793, together with Jean – Baptiste Lepaute (President), Ferdinand Berthoud, Antide Javier, Jean – Antoine Lépine and Claude Mathieu as well as the physician Jacques – Alexandre Charles and the mathematician and astronomer Joseph – Louis Lagrange. After deliberation the jury rejected all entries the 4. December 1795. Because of the difficulties in adapting the mechanics to the system and the difficulties in trade with all other countries with normal sidereal time the project of decimal time was ended the 7. April 1795.
Antiquarian Horology 
