ANTOINE ARLAUD 17th CENTURY Double-case alarm watch in silver-plated metal. Cases: chased and pierced with rinceaux featuring an eagle and a snail between two profiles, a nude woman and a man's face, between a medallion engraved with a peasant scene and a mascaron. Second protective case in silver-plated metal sheathed in leather (worn and missing). Dial: chased metal with Roman numerals for the hours and Arabic numerals in cartouches for the minutes on the outside. Alarm-setting rosette in center, engraved with Arabic numerals (missing). Movement: alarm, gilt metal, verge escapement with fusee and chains, pillars, barrel finely chased with scrolls, large cock engraved and pierced with scrolls, striking on gong, signed on the plate. Diameter: 60 mm Gross weight: 208.55 g With key. Antoine Arlaud was born in 1590 in Marengues, Auvergne. A Protestant of French nationality, he went into exile in Geneva, where he became a bourgeois in 1617. He was the first of a long dynasty of watchmakers, best known for his astronomical timepieces.