English minute repeating split-seconds chrono Circa 1898

Gold minute repeating watch with split-seconds chronograph
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An English yellow gold hunting-cased minute repeating keyless watch with split-seconds chronograph, circa 1898, gilt movement with English lever escapement, cut bimetallic compensation balance with gold screws, 18k yellow gold cuvette.
White enamel dial, Roman numerals, subsidiary dials for constant seconds and 60-minute register.
18k Yellow polished, Willis type case, two round pushers for split-seconds chronograph, repeating slide, dial and movement signed S. Smith and Son 9 Strand London, case and cuvette numbered and hallmarked for London 1898, case marker’s mark SS.
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Diameter: 59 mm
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Signed: S. Smith and Son 9 Strand London
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At the end of the 19th century, S. Smith and Son was the most prominent London maker of complicated watches. Samuel Smith, a jeweller and watchmaker, born in 1851, not only produced watches, but other time pieces such as chronometers. The excellent performance of these chronometers made the firm a supplier to the Admiralty. Shortly after this recognition, the firm developed into a large manufacturing company and remained a family run organization for generations to come.