English gold half hunting cased carrousel watch Circa 1905

Gold precision watch with 52½ minute carrousel
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An English 18 carat gold half hunting cased precision pocket watch with 52½ minute carrousel retailed by Sharman D. Neill in Belfast, United Kingdom, circa 1905. ¾ Plate movement after patent BB (Bahne Bonniksen) No. 21421 with a lever escapement, and gold screwed compensation balance with gold and platinum regulation screws. White enamel dial with radial Roman hour numerals, outer minute divisions, subsidiary seconds at 6 o’clock and double spade hands. The plain case with maker’s punch mark FT Frederick Thoms, and engraved monogram on the back. Dial signed, movement signed and numbered.
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Diameter: 51 mm
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Weight: 132 g
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Signed: Sharman. D. Neill Ltd Belfast By Appointment to the King
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Sharman D. Neill Ltd. was founded in 1802 by Sharman Dermot Neill, who became a Royal Warrant holder.
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Sharman D. Neill was a renowned jeweller and retailer of fine watches and chronometers in Belfast. He sold brands such as Kullberg, Gardner and Bonniksen.
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During World War I, the company supplied the British Army with optical instruments such as the so-called “Neill’s Sight” for the 36th Ulster Division.
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Carrousel timepieces are an invention of the Dane Bahne Bonniksen, who registered a patent in England in 1892. With his invention, he wanted to strike a balance between an expensive tourbillon and a normal chronometer. He even achieved better results with his carrousel watches than other manufacturers with tourbillons. One is only aware of very few copies that bear B. Bonniksen’s signature.