Heavy Swiss 18K gold complicated lever watch Circa 1880

Gold anker chronometer by James Nardin
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An impressive, heavy and extremely rare Swiss 18 carat gold hunting cased anchor chronometer with perpetual calendar, moon phases and retrograde date, circa 1880. Bridge movement, a piston tooth lever escapement and gold screw compensation balance. White enamel dial with Roman hours, an outer minute track, a fan shaped aperture for the moon phases at 12 o’clock with the retrograde date underneath, sunk subsidiary seconds at 8, days of the week in English at 6, the months at 4 and moon hands. The case is elaborately engraved with stars and swirls on both sides, a blank cartouche on the front. Dial signed, case numbered, movement signed and numbered.
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Diameter: 55 mm
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Weight: 181 g
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Signed: James Nardin Le Locle
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James Nardin was born in 1814, he was the first cousin of Ulysse Nardin. Nardin worked in Le Locle, Switzerland under the name James Nardin-Perret, Perret being his wife’s name. He was granted a U.S. patent (No. 93,735) for a self winding watch in 1869 and deposited a marine chronometer at the Neuchâtel Observatory in 1873. In 1878, the company won a gold medal for Horology at the Universal Exhibition in Paris. His son, also called James Nardin, born in 1838 continued the business after his father died in 1885.