Swiss rose gold quarter repeating chronograph Circa 1900

Rose gold repeating lever chronograph by Audemars Frères
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A Swiss 14 carat rose gold hunting cased quarter repeating chronograph lever pocket watch, circa 1900. The movement with a lever escapement. White enamel dial with Arabic hours, an outer minute track and Arabic five minute numerals, an outermost fifth of a second track, subsidiary seconds at 6 o’clock, rose gold Louis XIV hands and a blued chronograph hand. A polished case.
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Diameter: 56 mm
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Weight: 123 g
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Signed: Audemars Frères
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Audemars Frères. After the bankruptcy of the company Louis Audemars & Cie (the Ancienne Maison) in 1885, where Charles Henri Audemars was senior director, his two sons, Hector Adolphe Audemars and Charles Henri Audemars Jr., founded the company Audemars Frères in Geneva and Le Brassus. They continued the business very successfully and became the court watchmaker of the Russian tsar.

Two more companies that were formed after the bankruptcy were:
François Audemars Fils, founded by their elder brother, François. His watches are rare and said to be good quality but his business collapsed before the end of the 19th century and Louis Audemars & Cie, founded by a cousin Louis Audemars-Valette. His watches were good quality to begin with but declined in quality until he closed his company in about 1900.