Swiss minute repeating watch with jacquemart automaton Circa 1900

Gold, enamel, and pearl-set full hunter by Le Phare
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A Swiss gold, enamel, and pearl-set minute repeating watch with a nautical-themed Jacquemart automaton made for the Chinese market, circa 1900. The watch features a frosted gilded movement with lever escapement, a bimetallic compensation balance, and a revolving governor visible on the backplate. It also includes two polished steel hammers repeating on coiled gongs. The dial has a small central translucent white guilloché enamel time dial with blue Roman numerals, subsidiary seconds, an outer minute ring, and filigree hands. The dial is surrounded by a polychrome enamel painted scene of sailors with cannon, another on the lookout, and nautical attributes to the base. Additionally, automaton figures depict one sailor striking the ship’s bell while another strikes the ship’s funnel with a hammer.
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The 18k gold case is adorned with a polychrome enamel painted mountain landscape depicting a bear attacking a horse, a further white horse in the background, and a Swiss lakeside scene surrounded by floral garland on the case back. Both bezels are split-pearl-set, and the band is adorned with red guilloché enamel heightened by gold decoration. The covers and cuvette bear Swiss hallmarks and are each numbered 100323.
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Diameter: 58 mm
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Signed: Le Phare
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The movement is functioning properly with the minute repeating and the automaton operational. However, the striking of the repeating is slightly out of sync and requires adjustment. Overall, the case is in fair and attractive condition, with visible fine dings and light scratches throughout. There are also some more noticeable ones on the enamel panels. The horse scene has been restored in soft enamel. The dial is in fair condition with some ageing and light surface blemishes, and what appears to be scratching or staining is mainly visible towards the edge.
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Le Phare. The company was originally founded by Charles Barbezat-Baillot (1847–1938) and Henry Guye (1838–1877) under the name Guye & Barbezat in Le Locle, Switzerland, high in the Neuchâtel mountains. In 1888, the firm’s name was changed to Le Phare, the registered name of their complicated watches. The company, which later launched the Jean d’Eve watch range, has left its mark on the history of Swiss watchmaking. Indeed, from 1889, its watches were rewarded with the most eminent prizes: a gold medal at the National Exhibition of 1896 in Geneva followed that of 1889 at the Great Universal Exhibition in Paris. In 1897, the silent regulator was invented. A veritable technological marvel that overcame the humming problems that beset the repeater watches of the day. This brought another gold medal for Le Phare at the Paris Great Exhibition of 1900. In 1900, the company advertised its brands as La Locloise, l’Esperanto, Le Phare, Tempora, and La Volapuk. The company continued to develop and, in 1970, was the second-largest producer of chronograph watches in Switzerland. The management’s strategy is to take maximum advantage of its remarkable know-how to develop new ways of measuring time.