Julien Le ROY (1686-1759) - Lot 85

Julien Le ROY (1686-1759) A mahogany-veneered floor regulator with equation of time, with ormolu trim such as a leafy mascaron and floral fillets. Dial signed "inventé en 1736 par Julien Le ROY de la Société des Arts". Mid 18th century H. 206 cm Born in Tours, he trained with his father, Pierre Le Roy; by the age of thirteen, he was already making his own clock. In 1699, Julien Le Roy left for Paris, where he apprenticed with Le Bon. Awarded the title of Master Clockmaker in 1713, he went on to become a juror of his guild; he was also a juror of the Société des Arts from 1735 to 1737. In 1739, he was appointed Horloger Ordinaire du Roi King of Louis XV, he was given an apartment in the Louvre, but did not occupy it, handing it over to his son Pierre (1717- 1785), while continuing to work on rue de Harlay. Le Roy was a major innovator, notably in the improvement of monumental clocks indicating both mean and true time. He researched equation movements and perfected pull-tab repeater mechanisms. He adopted the George Graham cylinder, enabling the manufacture of thinner watches. He chose his watch cases from the finest manufacturers, including Caffieri, André-Charles Boulle, Jean- Joseph de Saint-Germain, Robert Osmond, Balthazar Lieutaud Lieutaud, Antoine Foullet and others; his dials were often made by Antoine-Nicolas Martinière.