JEAN-FRANÇOIS DOMINICÉ, 18K GOLD AND ENAMEL À TOC QUARTER REPEATING VERGE WATCH

Jean-François Dominicé (1694 - after 1754) was born into a wealthy and successful family of goldsmiths and clockmakers in Geneva. At a young age he decided to move to Paris to establish himself as a clockmaker where he quickly became successful, acquiring influential clients including the Duc d'Orléans, who paid for Dominicé's apprenticeship in London. Upon returning to Paris, Dominicé lived and worked in the courtyard of the abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, a privileged place where craftsmen could work without belonging to a specific guild.

A talented watch and clock maker he also supplied movements for Meissen porcelain watches, among others for the famous Parisian marchand-mercier Lazare Duvaux.

A longcase musical clock by Jean-François Dominicé is in the J. Paul Getty Museum.