Swiss rose gold quarter repeating clockwatch Circa 1870

Gold grande and petite sonnerie repeater
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An extremely fine Swiss 18 carat rose gold open faced grande and petite sonnerie quarter repeating keyless clockwatch made by Girard Perregaux in La Chaux-de-Fonds, circa 1880. A solid, plain case. White enamel dial with Roman hours, an outer minute track, Arabic five minute numerals, sunk subsidiary seconds at 6 o’clock and gold decorative hands.
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A nickel plated movement with Geneva striping decoration, double train with differential tandem winding, 29 jewels, gold wheel train, pivoted detent chronometer escapement, cut bimetallic compensation balance, blued steel Breguet balance spring and an index regulator, striking and repeating the hours and quarter hours on two gongs activated by a trip slide on the band, further Marche/Silence and Petite/Grande Sonnerie selection levers under the bezel. Dial, case and movement are signed.
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Diameter: 51 mm
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Signed: Girard Perregaux  Chaux de Fonds
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Any complication, such as a striking train, affects the timekeeping of a watch, so that watches with striking, repeating or a chronograph were not usually regarded as precision watches.
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The present watch is extremely rare because it has a detent chronometer escapement combined with grande and petite sonnerie striking and quarter repeating. The use of the chronometer escapement shows that Girard Perregaux intended this watch to be a precision timekeeper and, as such, a great deal of skill would have been needed to make the movement and to incorporate all the functions, yet retain the timekeeping capabilities.