Pierre III Le Roy

As of 1759, the signature “Julien Le Roy” was that of the clockmaker Pierre III Le Roy (1717-1785) who continued to run the workshop of his father Julien II Le Roy (1686-1759) and quickly became known as one of the finest Parisian clockmakers of the second half of the 18th century. No doubt trained in his father’s workshop in the rue de Harlay, he became a master on 9 July 1737. After the death of his father in 1759, he became Horloger Ordinaire du Roi, having lodgings in the Galeries du Louvre (galleries of the Louvre Museum). A scholar and inventor, he developed the bimetallic compensated pendulum, among other things. However Le Roy devoted most of his time and energy to perfecting marine chronometers, thus becoming the principal rival of Ferdinand Berthoud. Due to this work, in 1769 he received the double prize of the Academy of Sciences for the excellence of his work on the measurement of time at sea. Several years later, King Louis XVI acquired one of his marine chronometers, paying with his personal funds. He rewarded the horologist by giving him an annual pension of 1200 livres. In parallel, Pierre Le Roy continued to make luxury clocks for a clientele of important connoisseurs, among them the Countess du Barry (the favorite of King Louis XV), the Prince de Ligne, the Duke of Chaulnes and the Duke of Penthièvre.