English minute repeating split second chronograph Circa 1884

Gold open faced chronograph by Nicole Nielsen & Co.
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An English 18 carat gold open faced chronograph with split seconds and minute repetition, London Hallmark 1883-1884. Made for Howell James & Co. Gilt, frosted 4/5 Plate movement, steel chronograph parts, ratchet wheel, lever escapement with balance weight, gold escapement wheel, Guillaume anibal-nickel-brass chronometer balance with so called winged arms and weights of gold, finely floral hand engraved balance cock, swan neck regulation, blued Breguet spiral with Philips end curve, 5 screwed chatons, crown lift patent No. 10.348 Adolphe Nicole 1844. White enamel dial, Roman hours, small seconds at 6, blued steel pear hands, gold chronograph hands star and arrow (typical for Nicole Nielsen). Heavy, plain case with monogram MCL, without cuvette. Special case without cuvette (as often with Nicole Nielsen), case maker’s mark CN/EN for Charles Nicole and Emil Nielsen, Soho Square 14, London, pushbutton for the chronograph at 1 and setting the time at 11, slider for the repetition at 3 o’clock. Dial signed by retailer and movement signed by watchmaker.
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Diameter: 54 mm
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Weight: 142 g
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Signed: Howell & James London – Nicole Nielsen & Co. London
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The Guillaume balance with ‘winged arms’ was installed only in the finest timepieces at that time, like by Patek Phillipe in their observatory chronometers.
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The Company Nicole Nielsen & Co., 14 Soho Square, London, known for their very fine quality watches, was the largest supplier for the companies Chas. Frodsham and E.J. Dent. At first  manufacturer of chronographs, later they made pocket chronometers, carrousel watches and tourbillons for famous brands in London. Originally the company goes back to the Swiss company Nicole & Capt, which was founded in 1837 in Geneva. In 1840, Adolphe Nicole and his partner Henry Capt opened a London establishment. In 1843 Jules Capt took the place of the deceased Henry as a partner. A year later Adolphe Nicole received his first patent. In 1862 and 1870 he received two more patents for a chronograph movement and a ‘resilient lever’. In 1876, shortly after Jules Capt’s death, the Dane Sophus Emil Nielsen took over his place as a partner and submitted a patent to an ‘Up-and Down’ mechanism.
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In 1888, a Mr. North bought the company from Sophus Emil Nielsen. Nielsen was appointed Chief Executive along with Harrison Mill Frodsham. Apart from the fact that Nicole Nielsen & Co. certainly had many special parts made in Switzerland, most of them were produced in-house at Soho Square’s own factory. In 1898, the 31 year old Robert Benson North became director of the company. In 1899 Sophus Emil Nielsen died. The company existed until 1933.
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Howell James & Co. (1819-1911) were jewelers based in London’s Regent Street. The company was founded as ‘Howell & James’. In 1865 it employed over a 100 employees. The company became court supplier to Queen Victoria and established itself as ‘Howell James & Co. to the Queen London & Paris’. Howell & Co. were known for the variety and quality of their goods and offered pieces by designers among others. They participated in exhibitions in London in 1851 and 1862, exhibited in Paris in 1867 and again in London in 1871 and 1872. The Victoria and Albert Museum houses a number of Howell James & Co watches designed by Lewis Foreman Day in 1880.