Swiss gold repeater with carillon Westminster chimes Circa 1920

Gold repeating full hunter with carillon attributed to Eduard JeanRichard 
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A very fine and very rare Swiss 18K gold and enamel hunting cased minute repeating keyless lever carillon watch with Westminster chimes, circa 1920. Made on special order for an Oriental client. Polished case, the inside of the front cover enamelled with a very finely painted enamel portrait of a young lady, the back cover engraved with a coat of arms, motto and date. Hinged gold cuvette.
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White enamel dial with dauphine Arabic numerals, outer minute track, subsidiary seconds and blued steel spade 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 in the band.
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Diameter: 54 mm
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Signed: No name
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The present watch is of the type usually made for the Indian market, the finely enamelled portrait of the young lady is also typical of those high-quality enamels made for the Indian market. However, the engraved motto is of Middle Eastern origin and the lady depicted in the enamel is European in appearance. Carillon minute repeating watches are very rare, with Westminster chimes only a few are known to exist. Eduard JeanRichard, Le Locle, Switzerland, specialized in musical watches. He made a carillon watch for seven gongs playing the Swiss National Anthem. He founded his own retail company in 1915. Before that he specialized in ebauches made for other companies. In the 1920s, in addition to regular watches, the company advertised making carillon watches playing, among others, God save the King. In Musée International d’Horlogere in La Chaux-de-Fonds there is an identical watch as this one featured also in Grands Artisans de la Chronométrie by Alfred Chapuis.