Swiss 18k rose gold repeating centre seconds lever Circa 1875

Rose gold quarter repeater with independent dead centre seconds
–
A very fine Swiss 18 carat rose gold quarter repeating two train independent dead centre seconds keyless lever pocket watch, circa 1875. Retailed by Jles. Pelletier, Horloger, Angers. Frosted gilt movement, 45 jewels, two train with tandem winding, double gold wheel train with tandem winding, counterpoised straight-line lever escapement, cut bimetallic compensation balance, blued steel Breguet balance spring, index regulator, repeating on gongs activated by a slide on the band. Gold-hinged cuvette engraved with the technical details and engine-turned border. White enamel 24-hour dial with Roman numerals, outer minute track and Arabic five-minute numerals and original gold spade hands. Cuvette signed by retailer, and punched by the watchmaker on the front plate.
–
Diameter: 50 mm
–
Signed: A. Huguenin & Fils Locle
–
Independent dead centre seconds. In 1776, in Geneva, Moise Pouzait invented the independent dead seconds mechanism in which the movement has two trains, one conventional, and the second with a sweep seconds hand which can be stopped without stopping the main train.
–
Huguenin & Fils was founded in the mid-19th century in Le Locle by Adolphe Huguenin. They exhibited watches and chronometers at the International Exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876. The firm registered its name in 1880 as required by the 1879 law, with the trademark ‘A. Huguenin & Sons, Locle’ and for chronometers ‘A. Huguenin & Fils’.