English 18K pink gold watch with half quarter repeater Circa 1815

Important gold deck watch with cylinder escapement
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An important numbered gold deck watch with half quarter repeater, made by John Roger Arnold in London, England, circa 1815. The open faced original case was crafted from 18 Carat pink gold, is hinged on both sides and has  Hallmarks London 1815. The white enamel dial has Roman hour numerals, a numbered subsidiary seconds dial at six o’clock with large Arabic numerals for observation purposes and respectively pink gold and metal hands. The numbered, extremely rare and very fine movement has a half quarter repeater, a gold balance, temperature compensation and a cylinder escapement.
Dial and movement are signed and have matching numbers.
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Diameter: 56 mm
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Weight: 173 g
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Signed: J.R. Arnold, London
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Only a few watches by Arnold with an additional complication are known. This is an absolute rarity. With a half quarter repeater and gold case, only the number 2106 from 1811 is known and the number 3749, mentioned in Hans Staeger: “100 Jahre Präzisionsuhren von John Arnold bis Arnold &. Frodsham 1763-1862”. According to this, the 3731 was previously lost and not yet listed. The only known cylinder watch from 1802-1829 made by John Roger Arnold with a half quarter repeater was No. 3749, dated 1816.
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John Roger Arnold
John Roger Arnold (1769-1843) was born in 1769, the son of the famous watchmaker John Arnold. From 1783, John Roger Arnold learned the watchmaking craft, first with his father and from 1792 with Abraham-Louis Breguet. In 1787, John Roger and his father founded the company, Arnold & Son. In 1796, John Roger Arnold was released from the Clockmakers Company and in 1817 he became a master craftsman. After his father died in 1799, he continued the business, taking up a partnership with E.J. Dent in 1830. The two craftsmen experimented heavily during their work together, in particular, they concentrated on the effects of magnetism on chronometers. Dent left Arnold in 1840, where upon Arnold continued working on his own but died only three years later. Charles Frodsham bought the business after Arnold’s death in February 1843 and it flourished until 1858 under the name Arnold & Frodsham.