Swiss hunting cased half quarter repeating pocket watch Circa 1890

Gold and enamel keyless lever watch by Henry Capt
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A Swiss gold and enamel hunting cased half quarter repeating keyless lever watch, circa 1890. It features a damascened nickel movement with wolf’s tooth winding, lever escapement, jewelled to the centre, and two polished steel hammers repeating on coiled gongs, signed and numbered H. Capt, Genève. The white enamel dial has a pale blue chapter ring with gilt borders, Arabic numerals, a blue outer minute ring, sunken subsidiary seconds, and blued steel hands, signed Henry Capt, Genève. The 18ct gold case has engine turned covers and band, a stylized plant on the case front with green enamel stem and branches terminating in white enamel fleur de lys, a gold pendant and bow, a glazed cuvette, and is signed inside by Henry Capt, Genève. It is also engraved with répétition à demi quarts, chronomètre, numbered, and stamped AP within a cartouche, with the front cover numbered.
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Diameter: 51.5 mm
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Signed: Henry Capt, Genève
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The movement is functioning, but the signature is slightly rubbed. The plates and screw heads appear to be in good aesthetic condition. The repeating mechanism works, but it is intermittently dulled on the half quarter chime and will need adjustment. The dial is in good condition, the case is in good condition with crisp engine turning, and the enamel decoration is also good.
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Henry-Daniel Capt was an independent Swiss watchmaker who specialized in watches with additional complications such as musical watches and automatons. Capt was one of the first in Geneva to use barrels and crowns in his automatons. He was born in Chenit in the Vallée de Joux in April 1773, as the son of Jaques Samuel Capt and Susanne Piguet. His brother was Charles Samuel Capt. On January 1st, 1796, he married Henriette Piguet. In the Vallée de Joux, Capt trained as an établisseur. Around 1789, Henry settled in Geneva and worked for renowned companies such as Jaquet Droz, Godet, Leschot and his brother in law Daniel Isaac Piguet. In 1802 he went into partnership with Daniel Isaac Piguet, which lasted until 1811.
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When this partnership ended, Capt kept producing his pieces before entering another partnership with Aubert et Fils in 1830 as Aubert & Capt, located in Place Bel Air, Geneva. The firm was taken over by his son, Henry Capt, in 1844. He opened a shop on the Rue du Rhône in 1855, which quickly gained an excellent reputation. During the 1870s, the Henry Capt company advertised that they were the only Geneva watch manufacturer to have a branch retail house in London. He also established branches in Paris, Nice and New York. The house of Henry Capt flourished for many decades. Henry-Daniel Capt died in 1841.