American 18K rose gold repeating chronograph Circa 1890

Rose gold full hunter lever chronograph 
–
A very fine American 18 carat rose gold hunting cased minute repeating chronograph pocket watch made by Ernest Karthaus, circa 1890. Glazed bridge movement, two hammers, two gongs, a piston tooth lever escapement and gold screw compensation balance. The cuvette is engraved with the technical details. White enamel dial with Roman hours, outer minute divisions, a concentric fifth of a second track calibrated from 0-300, small sunk subsidiary seconds at 6 o’clock and moon hands. A plain case. Cuvette signed, case numbered.
–
Diameter: 55 mm
–
Weight: 136 g
–
Signed: Ernest Karthaus
–
Ernest Karthaus was born in Schwamendingen near Zurich in 1849. In 1866, he emigrated to America and moved to Kentucky, where in 1872 he married Carrie Amende, who came from Frankfurt am Main. Around 1880, he founded a speciality store for optics, gold and silver goods and watches in Huntsville, Alabama. In the late 1880s, he filed two patents for useful improvements to the spring winding system, such as a method of inserting and removing the spring. Karthaus died on April 18th, 1900, in Huntsville, Alabama, U.S.A.