Swiss pocket watch with rare automatic winding system Circa 1875

Gold automatic hunting cased pocket by Louis Frédéric Lebet
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An early and fine Swiss automatic hunting cased pocket watch with a rare system of automatic winding utilizing the opening and closing of the front cover, circa 1875. Made for the South American market.
Bridge movement, Breveté S.G.D.G., two engraved honour medals with engraving Paris 1867, screw compensation balance. White enamel dial with radial Roman numerals, outer minutes track, subsidiary dial for the seconds, and Breguet hands. Lavishly chased and engraved, 18-carat gold case with a slide to reveal the winding button hidden in the band. Gold dome with engraving: Charles Zbinden à Panama, Remontoire Invisible et mise à l’heure Automatique Breveté (Invisible Winding and Patented Automatic Time Setting)
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Diameter: 54 mm
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Weight: 124 g
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Signed: Louis Frédéric Lebet Neuchatel
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Louis Frédéric Lebet, Swiss watchmaker
Louis Frédéric Lebet was born in La Chaux-de-Fonds on August 25, 1838 and baptized on September 29 . He was the son of Louis Lebet (1807-after 1871) and Sophie Veuve (1807-1871). Father Louis Lebet was the brother of watchmaker Louis Justin Lebet. It is possible that Louis Frédéric was trained by his uncle. His father’s occupation is unknown, and Louis Frédéric was the only one of three children who grew up. Lebet married Marie Lina Benguerel-dit-Perroud (1839-1909) on October 26, 1860 in La Chaux-de-Fonds. From this marriage, three children were born, but none of their jobs is known. The couple had divorced in 1906 before Marie Lina died.
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Louis Frédéric Lebet won two awards at the Paris Exposition of 1867 ; In the same year, Humbert-Ramuz & Co. from La Chaux-de-Fonds received English patent no. 2388 for an automatic winding system using the opening and closing of the case back cover. The hunter shown with a rare winding system over the case cover was made for the South American market by Lebet. Lebet is almost certainly the actual maker of these works; during the Swiss National Exhibition in Zurich in 1883, the company received a certificate for the further development of a crown winding mechanism – this probably corresponded to English patent no. 3945, that of the Paris watchmaker Benjamin Haas Jr. received in December 1873.
Unfortunately, the date of Louis Frédéric Lebet’s death is not yet known.