Swiss repeating pocket watch with Grande Sonnerie Circa 1900

Heavy gold hunting cased repeater by Achille Hirsch
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A fine, heavy hunting cased minute repeating Swiss pocket watch with Grande Sonnerie, circa 1900.
14-Carat rose gold, engine-turned, à goutte case, gold dome, case maker’s punch mark CMI, and a lever for Sonnerie/Silence. Enamel dial with Arabic numerals, auxiliary seconds, and gold spade hands. Bridge movement by Louis-Elisée Piguet, rhodium-plated, fausses côtes decoration, two hammers / two gongs, tandem winding, screwed gold chatons, gold screw compensation balance.
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Diameter: 54 mm
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Weight: 121 g
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Signed: Achille Hirsch – Compagnie des Montres Invar La Chaux-de-Fonds
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Achille Hirsch
Achille Hirsch was born on February 17, 1847, in Hattstatt, a small village 8 km southwest of Colmar in Alsace. In 1870, shortly before Alsace-Lorraine was annexed to Germany, he left France and moved to La Chaux-de-Fonds. He lived with his uncle Moise Hirsch in Les Eplatures. There he also got to know his cousin Rachel Léa (née Hirsch, born November 13, 1851 in Hattstatt, +31.12.1941 in La Chaux-de-Fonds, parents: Moise Hirsch and Minette, née Dreyfuss). He married her on September 1, 1875. Eight children were born from this marriage.
Thanks to his cousin Félix Léon Hirsch (born on March 22, 1835, in Hattstatt, died on?, Brother of his wife), who ran a branch in New York, Hirsch also sold his watches in the USA. These were marked with “ACHILLE HIRSCH”, “AHS” and “Superior”. To simulate the American origin of his watches, the brand CLIMAX WATCH CO was introduced in 1887. NEW YORK NO.25500 added. The supposed serial number was given to all watches with this mark. A few years later, the American government legally obliged the factories to stamp their watches with the stamp of the country of manufacture.
In 1893, his company registered the brands “Cervine”, “Vigilant”, “Immerfort” and “Climax”. In 1895, the brands “Century” and “Century Watch” followed and in 1896 “UN-X-LD” and “Mac Kinley Watch”. In 1897, the brand name “Criterion” was added. Before the turn of the century, the manufacture launched the brands “The Normal Watch Co.”, “Passe-Patout”, “Principal”, “Tosca”, “LA FUTURE”, “Senator”, “Invar”, “CWCC”, “Titania”, “transsiberian “and” Velox “.
In 1904, the manufacture “Compagnie des Montres Invar, Fils de Achille Hirsch & Co.” (“CMI”) was launched (the “Invar” brand was registered in 1925). It also gets its brand called “Privilege”. In 1911, it was also given the “Prisma” brand. The company has been awarded several patents: