Working period
On the 26 December 1769 Louis George applied for the patent as the royal watchmaker and succeeded. He was allowed to call himself from now on “Horloger du Roy” — in English, "watchmaker to the king". French was the language of the Berlin nobility.
The literature on Louis George reports different working periods. The writer Gerhard Koenig states in his book a working period from 1769 to 1796. The address calendar of Berlin lists the Louis George in the editions of the years 1799 and 1801.
The addresses of Louis George's workshops mentioned at the Berlin Adresskalender are Schlossplatz 10 and 13 (in 1799) and Schlossplatz 10 in (1801), right opposite the Stadtschloss (city palace) of Berlin. Starting in 1815 Louis George et compagnie produced lever pocket watches, most probably a son of the royal watchmaker.
Watchmaker to the King
Louis George was a talented watchmaker and artist. He did not just create watches but real gems of watch making. His posh watches enchanted the audience and recovered the respect of the Berlin nobility and solvent bourgeoisie. His business flourished and he was capable of opening a second shop in the same street opposite the royal city palace.
Located at Berlin he provided watches for three generations of Prussians kings:
Other German monarchs appreciated the masterly crafted clocks and watches too. A long case clock with an organ movement formerly owned by Georg I. Duke of Saxe-Meiningen is preserved on castle of Elisabethenburg at Meiningen. It can be visited at the art collection of the Meininger Museen at the Schloss Elisabethenburg Inventory-No. II 1908, height 2,93 m. approx. 1790; watch dial reads: „Ls. GEORGE HORLOGER DU ROY“ / „A BERLIN“. The curator M. Ruszwurm reports that clock is equipped with a precious flute watch (also called organ watch).
A console clock with an attached flute work is exhibited at the Schloss Sanssouci at Potsdam.
Louis George long case clock of Georg I. Duke of
Saxe-Meiningen Clock dial of a Louis George console clock at
Sanssouci Louis George alcove clock with an attached bronze flute work, auctioned 2005 in Paris
Louis George lever watch, face
Louis George lever watch, back
Louis George pocket watch, made in
Berlin about 1810, photo: Dr.Ilk, Munich, Germany
Entry of the address of Louis George at the Berlin address book of 1769
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