Rare English gold open faced complicated lever Circa 1880

Gold trip quarter repeating complicated clockwatch
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A fine, rare English 18 carat gold open faced trip quarter repeating two train grande and petite sonnerie perpetual calendar keyless lever clockwatch with moon phases and lunar calendar, circa 1880. Frosted gilt movement with 31 jewels, twin barrels with tandem winding, a calibrated and counterpoised straight line lever escapement, cut bimetallic compensation balance, blued steel Breguet balance spring, an index regulator, striking and repeating on gongs, at the quarter hours or at will, activated by a trip slide in the band, silence/petite sonnerie/grande sonnerie levers protruding from under the cuvette. The hinged gold cuvette engraved Boxell Brighton. White enamel dial with Roman hour numerals, an outer minute track, subsidiary dials for the seconds, the days of the week, date and months with leap year indication, an aperture for the moon phases with a lunar calendar at the edge and original blued steel spade hands. The case back engraved with a monogram, correctors in the band.
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Diameter: 52 mm
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Signed: Boxell Brighton
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Thomas Boxell was born in 1823 in Brighton, England and died in 1885. He was recorded as a watchmaker and jeweller in Brighton as early as 1845. As a young man, Boxell was apprenticed to a local watchmaker and at the age of 22, he was running his own business as a watchmaker and jeweller at 55/56 Albion Street.

Kelly’s Directory of Sussex published in 1846 lists Thomas Boxell as a watchmaker at 56 Albion Street in Brighton. The 1851 census records him at 1 North Street Quadrant, Queen’s Road. The census return describes Boxell as a 27 year old watch and clockmaker, employing four men. That same year, he opened a second shop in North Street. Kelly’s Post Office Directory of Sussex and Taylor’s Original Brighton & Hove Directory lists Thomas Boxell at 145 North Street, in their lists headed Watch & Clockmakers. Advertisements published in the Brighton Herald in November 1856 announced Boxell’s removal to 40 King’s Road. Melville & Co.’s Directory of Sussex, issued in 1858, gives his full business address as The Brighton Observatory, 40 King’s Road, Brighton. When the census was taken some 25 years later on April 3rd, 1881, Boxell was recorded as a master watchmaker employing 11 hands at 43 King’s Road.
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In pocket watchmaking, the terms grande and petite sonnerie refer to intricate mechanisms that produce melodious chimes to indicate the time.

The grande sonnerie is considered the most complex and prestigious chiming mechanism in pocket watchmaking. It chimes the hours, quarters and minutes with a combination of gongs and hammers. The watch strikes the hours on a low-pitched gong, followed by the quarters on a higher-pitched gong and then the minutes on a third gong. This harmonious sequence repeats throughout the hour, creating a captivating symphony of sound.

The petite sonnerie is a simplified version of the grande sonnerie. It chimes the hours and quarters but omits the minute chimes.

Both grande and petite sonnerie mechanisms require meticulous craftsmanship and precise engineering. The hammers must strike the gongs with the perfect force and timing to produce clear and harmonious chimes.