To make watches in the Russian Empire in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Louis William Gabus sourced fine movements and components from Switzerland. He set watches with precious stones and decorated their dials with enamel painting. As production grew, W. GABUS supplied imperial ministries and agencies, gained a wide following and became one of the three largest watchmakers in the Russian Empire.

Here is an exceptionally rare W. GABUS minute repeater. It strikes the hours, then the quarters and minutes, allowing its owner to tell the time after dark simply by listening, without a light or electricity. Even today, the minute repeater is considered one of the most prestigious and technically demanding complications in watchmaking. From the mid nineteenth century, craftspeople made such remarkable timepieces largely by hand, without computer controlled machines or modern technology. The large gongs and hammers give this early twentieth century repeater a particularly rich sound.

Please listen for yourself.