English superb gold hunting cased tourbillon Circa 1918

Rare and superb gold hunting cased tourbillon watch
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An English rare and superb gold hunting cased keyless tourbillon watch, circa 1918, frosted gilt three-quarter plate movement, one-minute tourbillon carriage with Sidney Better’s first style steel cage, club-tooth lever escapement, bimetallic compensation balance, ruby end-stone,  off-white enamel dial, probably by Willis, Roman numerals, blued steel hands, outer minute track, subsidiary seconds, glazed cuvette, 18k gold case, plain polished covers, Olivette set-hands push, case, dial and movement signed, case and movement numbered, the backplate engraved This watch was made by the Northern Goldsmiths Company, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Watchmakers to the Lords of the Admiralty, case stamped NG Co in a cameo for Northern Goldsmiths, the pillar plate stamped NG above Co in a rectangle.
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Diameter: 56 mm
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Signed: Northern Goldsmiths Company Newcastle-upon-Tyne Watchmakers to the Lords of the Admiralty
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This watch was submitted to the National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, Middlesex. The watch was rated from 2nd December 1919 to 15 January 1920. At that time the watch received an “Especially good” Class A rating and a certificate was awarded with 92.2 marks for superior merit, a remarkably good score. Only one other scored higher, no. 2134 made in 1922, which achieved a rating of 94.2 points. Sydney Better, a little-known Clerkenwell maker, produced a small series of one-minute tourbillons for the Northern Goldsmiths Company. To date, only nine pieces are known. Rienhard Meis in his book Das Tourbillon, accounted for eight pieces.

Sidney Better made two forms of carriages, Better 1 and Better 2. The present lot features Better 1 which includes a three-armed cage with a two-armed straight bridge, the Better 2 has a three-armed cage. Sidney Better worked alone until the mid-1930s. He used Swiss components for the escapements which he finished and fitted to his carriages.