Danish silver plated half seconds chronometer Circa 1803

Gold pocket watch with detent chronometer escapement
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A very fine half seconds chronometer made by Larpent & Jürgensen in Copenhagen, Denmark, circa 1803. The plain silver plated case originally had a detachable cuvette, which now has a slide for locking it. The screwed white enamel dial has Arabic hour and fifteen minute numerals, jumping half second center seconds and pink gold Breguet hands. The extremely rare experimental movement has a detent chronometer escapement. The cuvette is signed and numbered.
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Diameter: 61 mm
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Weight: 175 g
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Signed: Larpent et Jürgensen Track op til höijre Kjöbenhavn 1803
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This watch is one of the earliest surviving chronometers from the experimental phase of the Jürgensen dynasty and, according to research, the only pocket chronometer by Larpent & Jürgensen known to date.
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The Jürgensen Dynasty
Jürgen Jürgensen was born in Copenhagen in 1745. Between 1759 and 1765 he worked as an apprentice for Johnas Jacob Lincke. In 1768, Jürgen Jürgensen moved to Le Locle and worked with Jacques-Frédéric Houriet, the famous Swiss watchmaker who was known as the father of Swiss chronometry. He founded a watch factory in Copenhagen in 1775 and formed the brand name Larpent & Jürgensen in the 1780s in collaboration with Isaac Larpent, a well known Danish watchmaker. In 1781, Larpent & Jürgensen began producing pocket watches. In 1784, King Fredrik VI appointed Jürgen Jürgensen as Court Watchmaker. Jürgen Jürgensen died in 1811.