English gold repeating chronograph with tourbillon Circa 1931

Gold repeating split second chronograph by Charles Frodsham
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An impressive and exceptional large English yellow gold open faced minute repeating split second chronograph watch with one minute tourbillon and 60 minute register, circa 1931. Sold to J.P. Morgan Jr. in 1933. The movement of this watch features a high quality gilt three quarter plate with a double roller ratchet tooth lever escapement and free sprung regulation. It includes a Guillaume balance with a spiral blued steel balance spring and over coil as well as a tourbillon with a polished steel carriage designed in the Nicole Nielsen Type 2 three arm style. The back plate is equipped with polished steel chronograph mechanisms that repeat on two polished steel gongs. It is signed Chas Frodsham By Appointment to the King AD F.m.s.z. and bears the number 010’330.
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The watch has a T. J. Willis type Venetian white enamel dial, signed Chas. Frodsham 010’330 AD Fmsz, featuring radial Roman numerals, outer minute and fifth of a second divisions, subsidiary seconds and a 60 minute register. It is adorned with blued steel spade hands as well as blued steel and yellow gold split second hands. The case is made of high quality gold with a polished finish featuring a split pusher located above the 11 o’clock position, a recessed repeating slide, a gold handset button with a gold olivette, a five knuckle joint and a turning pendant. The cuvette is inscribed Henry S Morgan Jr., numbered 010’330 and hallmarked for 1931, with maker’s mark HMF representing Harrison Mill Frodsham.
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It comes with the original presentation case from Charles Frodsham & Co. Ltd. It includes a Certificate of Origin dated June 23, 2014, confirming that it was sold to J.P. Morgan Jr. on December 30, 1933. Additionally, there is a facsimile copy of the original statement from Charles Frodsham & Co. Ltd. addressed to J. Pierpont Morgan, Esq., dated September 1934. This statement confirms the purchase made on December 30, 1933, with invoice number 4725 for the amount of £350.
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Diameter: 65 mm
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Thickness: 22 mm
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Signed: Charles Frodsham
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The case is in overall very good condition, featuring light surface wear and scuffing throughout. The gold marks on the bow are crisp. There is some visible but rubbed marking on the winding stem. The lip of the slide remains well defined, and there is a normal, light, and even patina throughout that is consistent with its age. The cuvette is personally inscribed with Henry Morgan Jr. The dial is intact with light surface wear, including a small raised mark just above the centre arbour and a small coloured dot between the 11 and 12. The hands show some light patina. The split second chronograph is functioning, and the minutes are repeating in phase. The movement is running smoothly.
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This watch is a well preserved example of a tourbillon watch created by Charles Frodsham for J.P. Morgan. Number 010’330 is part of a series of watches with identical complications produced by Frodsham for J.P. Morgan Jr. between 1898 and 1934. Unlike the other Morgan watches, which were given as gifts to incoming directors of the bank, No. 010.330 was kept by the Morgan family.
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According to family legend, the watch was discovered after the passing of J.P. Morgan Jr. and was inherited by his son, Henry Sturgis Morgan. It was later gifted to Vice Admiral Henry Sturgis Morgan Jr., whose name is engraved on the cuvette.
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This is particularly interesting because most commissioned timepieces were given as gifts to colleagues and featured engravings of the recipients’ names. However, the inscription for Henry Sturgis Morgan Jr. indicates that, unlike most Morgan Frodshams available on the market, this piece was specifically commissioned to remain in the family.
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As of now, approximately 25 of these watches are known to exist, either as surviving pieces or through archival records from Charles Frodsham & Co. Ltd. and the Morgan Library. They were commissioned by J.P. Morgan and J.P. Morgan Jr. between 1897 and 1931, with most serving as presentation items. At the time they were manufactured, these watches were among the most complicated and expensive English production watches available, retailing for £200 to £350.
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This watch belonged to the family of its original owner through the estate of Alexandra McCain Morgan. Mrs. McCain Morgan was the late wife of Rear Admiral Henry Sturgis Morgan Jr. and the sister of the late Senator John McCain.
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Charles Frodsham & Co. Ltd. was one of the most prestigious English watchmaking firms during the latter half of the nineteenth century. In 1854, Charles Frodsham succeeded Benjamin Lewis Vulliamy as the Superintendent and Keeper of Her Majesty’s Clocks at Buckingham Palace, serving both the King, The Prince of Wales, and Queen Alexandra.
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The firm’s relationship with the Morgan family began with Junius Morgan, who became a business partner in the English branch of the banking house George Peabody & Co. in 1854. This tradition of acquiring and maintaining fine clocks and watches continued with John Pierpont Morgan (1837-1913). In 1883, he presented a complicated watch to his personal valet, George William, on the occasion of his marriage. This watch was the precursor to the most famous of the Frodsham watches ordered by the Morgan family, which included a series of state-of-the-art open-face tourbillons featuring minute repeating, split-second chronographs, minute registers, and constant seconds.
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Of the known pieces just 11 have appeared in public auctions:
•    08’616, Sotheby’s New York, 22nd Oct 2002, lot 25
•    08’867, Antiquorum Hong Kong, 29th May 1989, lot 342
•    08’920, Sotheby’s London, 15th, Dec 2016, lot 57
•    08’921, Ineichen Zurcich, 3rd Mar 1981, lot 44
•    09’636, Christies New York, 25th Oct 1994, lot 362
•    09’682, Sotheby’s New York, 10th Dec 2013, lot 68
•    09’777, Christies New York, 18th April 1984, lot 192
•    09’849, Christies New York, 28th Oct 1991, lot 360
•    09’857, Sotheby’s New York, 27th Oct 1997, lot 350
•    010’303, Christies New York, 26th Jun 1996, lot 140
•    010’330, Sotheby’s New York, 15th Dec 2020, lot 85

The remaining known extant pieces are held in private collections or owned by descendants of the original owners.