Swiss 18 carat gold and enamel repeating keyless lever Circa 1900

Gold and enamel minute repeater by Vacheron & Constantin
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A very fine and rare Swiss 18 carat gold and enamel open faced minute repeating keyless lever pocket watch with 24-hour dial, circa 1900. Retailed by Joh. Hartmann, Berlin. Matte gilt movement, 27 jewels, a counterpoised and calibrated straight-line lever escapement, cut bimetallic compensation balance, blued steel Breguet balance spring, swan-neck micrometre regulator, repeating on gongs activated by a slide on the band. A hinged gold cuvette. Matte champagne-coloured dial with champlevé black Arabic hours, an outer minute track, outermost blue 24-hour numerals, subsidiary seconds at 6 o’clock and blued steel Breguet hands. A polished case with rounded band, the back is decorated with a polychrome enamel scene depicting the Virgin and Child with a bunch of grapes, a champlevé white line and a royal blue enamel border with chased gold foliage. Case and movement signed and numbered, dial and cuvette signed by the retailer.
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Diameter: 46 mm
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Signed: Vacheron & Constantin Genève – Joh Hartmann Berlin