Swiss gold repeater with Westminster chimes carillon Circa 1905

Gold watch with black enamel dial
–
A very fine and very rare Swiss, 18K gold, hunting cased, keyless, minute repeating pocket watch with carillon Westminster chime and black dial, circa 1905. Examined by Goldsmiths and Silversmiths Company. A polished case, front cover with engraved monogram. Hinged gold cuvette engraved with a dedication. Black dial enamel with radial gold Roman numerals, outer gold minute track, subsidiary seconds. Gold Louis XV hands. A gilt brass movement, 32 jewels, straight-line lever escapement, cut bimetallic compensation balance with blued steel Breguet balance spring, index regulator, repeating on four gongs with four hammers activated by a slide on the band. Dial signed movement and case are numbered, movement engraved with Constant Piguet’s patent number.
–
Diameter: 54 mm
–
Signed: Constant Piguet  Le Sentier
–
Carillon minute repeating watches are very rare; only a few are known with four hammers or Westminster chimes. On March 20, 1896, Constant Piguet patented this system of minute repeat with the carillon. The makers that specialized in this type of watch were Constant Piguet, Eduard JeanRichard, and Victorin Piguet. The known tunes played by four hammer carillons are: Westminster chimes, the Swiss National anthem, and God Save the King. The inscription on the cuvette of this watch reads: Presented to Dr Thomas Richard Allinson by The Weekly Times and Echo on behalf of 2400 Admirers & Friends, 30 Sept. 1911, Died Nov. 29. 1918. It is possible that this watch was later sold by Dr Allinson, after which time the dial was changed for the Russian market. Thomas Richard Allinson author of domestic books including Wholesome Cookery, 1890; Consumption, 1892; A Book For Married Women, 1894; Stomach Diseases, 1902, and Dr Allinson’s Cookery Book, 1915. It is probable that he wrote a newspaper column for the Weekly Times & Echo and that the watch was presented to him upon his retirement.