Swiss minute repeating lever made for Chinese market Circa 1895

Gold open faced repeating lever by Sandoz
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A very fine and rare Swiss 18 Carat gold, enamel and half pearl set minute repeating gentleman’s pocket watch with chronograph made for the Chinese market, circa 1895. Engine-turned case back with translucent red enamel decorated with an opaque polychrome enamelled scene of a young lady holding a fan sitting in a field of flowers, half pearl studded bezels, the band decorated with translucent red enamelled lozenges and foliage, florally engraved gold dome, pusher for stoppable seconds through the crown and a slide for repeating mechanism. Signed white enamel dial, gemstone-set, radial Roman hours, centre seconds, outer minutes divisions with Arabic five-minute numerals, florally decorated hands.
Frosted gilt bridge movement with two hammers and two gongs, governor for repetition, Swiss Patent 334, chatoned centre wheel, screw compensation balance, regulator tail. Comes with the original presentation box.
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Diameter: 53 mm
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Weight: 131 g
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Signed: Sandoz Locle
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This is one of the relatively rare enamel watches with complications. Several companies have the name Sandoz in Le Locle; the one in question was most likely case maker Frédéric Henri Sandoz (1851-1913), son of a watchmaker, who founded his company in 1870. The enamelling and particularly the painting must have been carried out by one of the outstanding enamel painters in Geneva at the time, who, in contrast to their colleagues in earlier centuries, remained anonymous.
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There is a nearly identical gold and enamel gentleman’s pocket watch of the same weight and size as this timepiece, the minute repeater decorated with half pearls and its back showing a young lady playing the flute in a field of flowers. This watch was sold for a price of € 34,000.