Solid Gold Enamel Watch Sewing? Chatelaine French? c. 1800

Description

This is a late 18th century chatelaine. It weighs 1.25 troy ounces or 39 grams. It measures 5 ¾” long and 2 1/8” wide at the top.
It has a few problems. First the long tong that it no doubt originally had, is missing. The top part was then probably reinforced with a piece of base metal, probably brass, and changed into a pin. Then at some point it must have been apart for some reason. And many of the rings that connect the various parts. were replaced, and perhaps parts are missing. The very small rings are dark and probably not gold.
The odd thing is that we tested some of the enameled pieces and got a range in quality from 14k to 18k. At the time these were made the French used 18k as the standard, and they would be marked. The marks could have been on the missing tongue, but that doesn’t explain the varying quality of the metal, as in France this would be a serious offense.
The only explanation that I can come up with is that it was made in one of the less restricted French colonies. The larger enamel pieces are in good condition, except for microscopic scratches, but the name on one of the tassels is chipped. So the condition is a bit rough but you would be in rough condition too if you were over 200 years old.
There are several similar chatelaines shown in Martha Gandy Fales book on early jewelry in America.
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