The lid of this snuff box is so well made that it is almost impossible to tell that it holds a watch. Auguste Golay-Leresche David Auguste Golay (1814-1895), called Auguste, was the son of Jacques David Golay of the Vallée de Joux, and Susanne Louise Meylan, who settled in Geneva around 1829 with their son. In 1837 Auguste married Susanne Leresche, a ?regleuse? who probably worked for her father, also a watchmaker. That same year Golay founded his first firm, juxtaposing his wife's name with his own, as was the custom: Golay-Leresche. In 1841, Auguste Golay took on an associate, Louis Gunther, forming an "établissement d'horlogerie", called Golay & Gunther, which was dissolved in 1842 upon the departure of Louis Gunther. Auguste Golay continued working under his own name, Golay-Leresche, and became quite successful. The firm's production was invariably of high quality, and Auguste Golay a shrewd businessman. Exceptional items were shown at the growing number of International Exhibitions, and the company won prizes at the exhibitions of London in 1851, Paris in 1855 and 1878, and in the Swiss National Exhibitions held in Zurich, Geneva, etc. Following the death of Auguste in 1895, his sons Pierre and Louis took Edouard Stahl into partnership in 1896. The firm's name changed to Golay Fils & Stahl, and continues as such to this day. Jean Gallay was a watchmaker and merchant. He is recorded at the rue du Mont Blanc 2 in 1857, and at the rue Kléber 119 ter in 1860. "Dictionnaire des Horlogers Genevois", by Osvaldo Patrizzi, Antiquorum Editions, Geneva, 1998.