Swiss gold five minute repeating perpetual calendar Circa 1880

Gold complicated lever watch
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A Swiss/French historically important 18 carat gold hunting cased double dialled five minute repeating keyless pocket watch with a patented winding mechanism, perpetual calendar, ages of the moon and moon phases made by B. Haas Jeune & Cie in Paris, France, circa 1880. This watch was a gift from Gregorio Luperón, the 20th President of the Dominican Republic and features six horological complications.
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The movement with a lever escapement, repeating the five minutes on two steel gongs, activated by a slide at 6 o’clock. With a winding mechanism by closing the cover, based on French patent No. 77 124, delivered on July 13th, 1867, to Benjamin Haas Jeune in Paris, France, for a “Système de remontoir applicable à tous genres d’échappements – Montre savonnette se remontant en regardant l’heure”, the later, so-called, “Remontoir perpétuel à décrochement”, and, additionally, a French patent dated August 3rd, 1869, and English patent No. 3 945, delivered on December 2nd, 1873, for a (keyless) winding mechanism. The perpetual calendar mechanism based on the English patent No. 2 870, delivered on September 30th, 1872, to Benjamin Haas Jeune.
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The round shaped case is engraved in taille douce (fine cut) on both sides with stylized geometric patterns, the cover showing the decoratively engraved, partially black and blue enamelled monogram LG for Gregorio Luperón, the back with the coat of arms of the Dominican Republic featuring a banner reading Republica Dominicana above and the country’s motto Dios Patria Libertad in a banner below (God Homeland Freedom in English).
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The white enamel dial on the face with black Roman hours, an outer minute track, outermost red Arabic five minute numerals and sunk subsidiary seconds at 9 o’clock. The white enamel dial on the reverse features an outermost chapter ring for indication of the date, a subsidiary dial for the days of the week on the left and months of the year on the right in French, an aperture for the phases of the moon and moon age at 12 o’clock.
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Diameter: 53.5 mm
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Signed: B. Haas Jne & Cie Paris & Genève
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According to the previous owner, this watch was a gift from president Gregorio Luperón of the Dominican Republic to Dr Felipe B. Cordero Y Escalona (1870-1922), the president’s family practitioner, for the safe delivery of his first daughter.
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Gregorio Luperón was born on September 8th, 1839 and died May 21st, 1897. He was an Afro-Dominican soldier and patriot, a military general and statesman who was one of the leaders in the restoration of the Dominican Republic after the Spanish annexation in 1863. He was Vice President from January 24th, 1865 to March 24th, 1865 and the 20th president of the Dominican Republic from December 6th, 1879 to September 1st, 1880.  In the early 1880s, he served as a diplomat in Paris, representing the democratically elected government of his successor, father Fernando Arturo de Meriño (1833-1906). He remains one of the greatest heroic figures of his country.
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Benjamin Haas’ patented winding mechanism,
remontoir perpétuel à décrochement:
In 1867, Benjamin Haas patented an interesting winding mechanism by closing the cover, which transmits the power via two levers to a ratchet wheel on the barrel arbour with a safety device disengaging the mechanism when fully wound. The design was quite successful and Haas employed it in some of his best watches, mostly horological complications. The initial idea was progressively improved and the one used in the 1890s, is a well developed system with a 36 hour power reserve generated by only twelve closings. Haas changed the going train to accomplish this, adding an extra wheel, which allowed him three hours winding by a single closing. He also designed a safety device disengaging the mechanism when fully wound, which was necessary to prevent damage to the cover.
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Among the circa 20 pieces with a “remontoir perpétuel à décrochement”, the present example is one of the four most complicated known today from this series. The three others are:  No. 13 760 made in circa 1875, with a minute repeater, perpetual calendar, moon phases and two time zone, sold at auction by Antiquorum in Hong Kong on April 28th, 2018 for the amount of HKD 525,000 (CHF 67,000).  No. 15 722 made in circa 1880, with a minute repeater, retrograde perpetual calendar with leap year indication and moon phases, sold  at auction by Etude Millon in Paris, Drouot Richelieu on December 6th, 2011 for the amount of € 41.000 and No. 15 849, made in circa 1880, with a minute repeater, perpetual calendar with leap year indication and moon phases, sold at auction by Antiquorum in Geneva on November 13th, 2011 for CHF 56.250.