Swiss 18 Carat gold heavy lever detent chronometer Circa 1890

Gold open faced chronometer by Girard-Perregaux
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A Swiss heavy lever chronometer with additional inner anti magnetic protection case according to the patent of Giles Bro. & co., with original box, circa 1890.
18 Carat gold case. White enamel signed dial, Roman numerals, subsidiary dial for the seconds. Bridge movement, blued spherical balance spring, large gold screw compensation balance.
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Diameter: 50 mm
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Weight: 87 g
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Signed: Girard Perregaux, Chaux de Fonds
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Supreme precision is the purpose of this movement, which follows the lead of Perregaux’ original three-bridge movement design: the over 19 mm large balance, the screwed gold chatons everywhere, the freesprung, spherical mainspring and the non magnetic protection cap in addition to the cuvette, which was made by the Giles Brothers in Chicago. Nevertheless, the overall appearance of the watch with its delicate dial is one of superior elegance.
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Giles Brothers & Co. were highly renowned jewellers in Chicago in the mid 19th century and among other things, responsible for the city’s “official time”. The company was founded by Charles K. Giles, who was born in Massachusetts in 1839 and who moved to Chicago in 1861. On December 4, 1883 he received a patent for an antimagnetic shield, which was followed by another patent for a non magnetic watch case in 1885. As the magnetism issues were a big problem for railway watches, the novelty design was primarily used for watches produced by the Waltham Watch Co. and the Elgin National Watch Co.. However, according to a report dating from 1888, C. J. Field, lead engineer of the Edison factories in New York and C.J. van de Poele, maker of dynamos in Chicago, also made good use of this new technology.