French pink gold open faced complicated lever watch Circa 1880

Pink gold keyless pocket watch
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A very fine and rare, large and heavy hunting cased quarter repeating keyless pocket watch with triple calendar, digital months and moon phases made by Jean-Antoine Lépine in Paris, circa 1880. The polished case of this watch, crafted from 18 carat pink gold, has a hinged gold cuvette, features an applied ducal coat of arms on the front cover and the back cover is engraved with the foliate monogram JE beneath a ducal coronet. The white enamel dial has black Roman hours, an outer minute track, red Arabic five minute numerals, subsidiary seconds with concentric phases of the moon
at 6 o’clock, the date at 2, days of the week at 10, an aperture for the months at 12 and blued steel spade hands. The matte gilt movement is fitted with 29 jewels, wolf’s tooth winding, a counterpoised straight line lever escapement, cut bimetallic compensation balance, blued steel balance spring with overcoil and an index regulator, the repeating on gongs activated by a slide on the band.
Cuvette signed.
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Diameter: 52 mm
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Signed: Lépine Place des Victoires 2 Paris
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The present watch is in extremely good condition and of very high quality. The Swiss movement, featuring a large number of rubies, was finished by the highly respected Parisian maker Bourdin. It has a highly unusual caliber with three trains, barrels for both the going and striking trains and a further independent train for the minute repeating, which is activated by a slide in the band.
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In almost all other watches, the minute repeating is activated by a trip button or small slide powered by the striking train barrel. The arrangement in this timepiece, therefore, allows the striking train a greater length of duration without winding as the repeating mechanism takes no power from the striking barrel but is powered independently by the action of the slide in the same way as a standard repeating watch.
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A.E. Bourdin was a mid 19^th century Paris maker. The Tribune Chronométrique of 1850 says that his watches “…are not only very well finished and presented in all their details, but are also excellent timekeepers and this despite the many complications which they embody…”.