Swiss 18K rose gold minute repeating lever watch Circa 1890

Presentation watch made by Louis Audemars
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A very fine and rare Swiss 18-carat rose gold, enamel and diamond-set hunting cased minute repeating keyless lever Royal presentation pocket watch made for Umberto I, King of Italy, circa 1890. Retailed by C. Morel Jeune, 65, Rue de Rome, à Marseille. Gilt brass movement, 25 jewels, counterpoised straight-line lever escapement, cut bimetallic compensation balance, blued steel Breguet balance spring, index regulator, repeating on gongs with two polished steel hammers, activated by a slide in the band. Gold-hinged cuvette. White enamel dial with Arabic numerals, outer minute track, subsidiary seconds and original blued steel spade hands. Polished case, faceted band, the hinged and sprung front cover with the champlevé enamelled diamond-set coat of arms of Umberto I, King of Italy. Movement and case signed by the watchmaker, cuvette signed by the retailer.
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Diameter: 52 mm
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Signed: Ls Audemars Brassus & Genève
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Sovereigns usually bought such watches to be presented to important visitors or to recognise loyalty.
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King Umberto I (1844-1900) was born on March 14, 1844, in Turin (Piedmont), Kingdom of Sardinia, Duke of Savoy and King of Italy. His marriage to his cousin Margherita Teresa Giovanna, Princess of Savoy, on April 22, 1868, and the birth of their son, the future Vittorio Emanuele III, on November 11, 1869, also gained him public sympathy despite prevailing anti-monarchist sentiment. Umberto, I led his country out of its isolation and into the Triple Alliance with Austria and Germany. He supported nationalistic and imperialistic policies that led to disaster for Italy and helped create the atmosphere in which he was assassinated in Monza by an anarchist on July 29, 1900.