Swiss rose gold hunting cased split-seconds chronograph Circa 1890

Gold split-seconds chronograph with register
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A very fine and rare Swiss 18 carat rose gold hunting cased split-seconds chronograph keyless lever pocket watch with register, circa 1890. Rhodium-plated movement, Geneva Striping decoration, 25 jewels, straight-line counterpoised and calibrated lever escapement, cut bimetallic compensation balance, white metal alloy Breguet balance spring, index regulator, visible chronograph work. Hinged gold cuvette, a glazed gold-rimmed cover to view the movement. White enamel dial with Roman hours, outer minute and 1/5th seconds divisions with Arabic five-minute/seconds numerals, auxiliary seconds at 6 o’clock, 30-minute register at 12 and blued steel spade hands. A solid, polished case with rectangular pushers on the band for the start/stop and return-to-zero of the chronograph and split-seconds function. Dial, case and cuvette signed, movement numbered.
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Diameter: 50.5 mm
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Signed: A. Golay-Leresche & Fils
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A. Golay-Leresche & Fils Genève, 2 Rue de la Paix, Paris.
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Golay Fils & Stahl. In 1895, David Auguste Golay died in Geneva and his sons David Louis Golay and Joseph Pierre Golay took over the company. Louis became a jeweller and representative of the A. Golay-Leresche company in Paris at 2 Rue de la Paix. Pierre became a watchmaker and later managed the company in Geneva. The brothers partnered with Edouard Stahl in 1896. Between 1896 and 1906 the company was renamed Golay Fils & Stahl and later Golay Fils & Stahl Successors. In addition to the well-known companies Patek Philippe and Vacheron & Constantin, they also manufactured extremely fine Geneva pocket watches. Their extremely fine gold and enamel timepieces are highly traded today. Alongside Patek Philippe, Golay was one of the few Geneva-based manufacturers of these special watches to feature Geneva signatures.