Julien Le Roy

The name Julien Le Roy points at an ancient family of prominent clockmakers in Paris. Julien Le Roy (1686, Tours, France -1759, Paris) was a major 18th-century Parisian clockmaker and watchmaker. By the age of 13, he had already made his first clock. In 1699, he moved to Paris for further training. He became ‘maître horloger’ in 1713 and later ‘juré’ of his guild. Further appointments followed, including the Directorship of the Société des Arts, but the pinnacle of his achievement was being appointed clockmaker (Horloger Ordinaire du Roi) to King Louis XV in 1739. He carried on his business from premises in the Rue du Harlay until his death in 1759. His eldest son Pierre Le Roy (1717, Paris–1785), a brilliant clock-maker too, carried on the business until the early 1780s. He constructed his first chronometers by 1756, and accomplished his masterpiece in 1766.