Swiss gold grande & petite sonnerie lever watch Circa 1880

Repeating full hunter with grande & petite sonnerie by Louis Audemars
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A Swiss 18 carat gold hunting cased trip quarter repeating pocket watch with grande & petite sonnerie, circa 1880. Highly complex experimental bridge, grained and gilded, adjustable anchors with balance (this type of anchor has been used into the Patek Philippe watches with the ‘Extra’ quality mark and received a certificate from the Geneva Observatory. According to this certificate, the watch was regulated by J. Golay from Audemars)), two barrels with tandem lift, polished steel parts, golden wheels, two hammers on two gongs, bimetallic gold screwed compensation balance. White enamel dial, gold Audemars pear hands. À goutte case, makers mark ‘MF’ (Meylan Freres). Comes with the original elegant red leather case.
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Diameter: 53 mm
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Weight: 153 g
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Signed: No name
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In 1860, the brothers Meylan started technical support of Thomas Aubert, who had worked at Audemars  for some years, by a workshop for the production of gold cases. The small workshop with only five to six employees delivered gold cases of outstanding quality, all cases were made exclusively by hand. Until 1885 Meylan Frères was the main supplier for Audemars. The Geneva based watchmakers unanimously agreed that ‘there were never before such beautiful and elegant housings’.
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In 1837, Audemars developed his first watch with winding through the crown. Over the years this invention was further improved, in 1847 LeCoultre designed his version of the crown lift. Audemars combined the two systems and exhibited his ready-for-production crown lift at the 1851 London World’s Fair. The present movement is most likely one from this period, it was made around the end of the 1840s.