German quarter repeating open faced lever watch Circa 1890

Gold lever watch by Dürrstein & Comp.
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A German quarter repeating pocket watch, circa 1890.
14-carat rose gold case with a glazed movement, white enamel dial with red and black Arabic Numerals, subsidiary dial for the seconds and gold hands. It has a bridge movement, two hammers / two gongs and a gold screw compensation balance.
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Diameter: 55 mm
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Weight: 107 g
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Signed: Dürrstein & Comp., Dresden
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Johannes Dürrstein (1845-1901) founded his wholesale firm for watches in 1874 and called it Dürrstein & Co.; the company was quickly successful and sold mainly watches from Switzerland. At the same time, he entered a contract with F. A. Lange in Glashütte, enabling him to be the sole distributor of Lange timekeepers; however, this did not bring the expected results. Consequently, Dürrstein convinced Lange to produce lower-priced pocket watches, which he advertised as “Caliber D & C” at first and later sold under the brand name “Glashütte D & C”. In 1893 Dürrstein finally established his own manufactory – the “Uhrenfabrik Union, Glashütte i.S.”.