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The Encyclopedia of Horology

Pocket watches · Complication

Quarter Repeater Watches

Verified

Repeating watches that sound the hours and the nearest preceding quarter-hour on demand, the simplest and most common form of striking pocket watch.

Mechanism

Operating the slide charges a small striking train; a rack falls against a snail cam geared to the hour and quarter-hour wheels, releasing hammers to strike the appropriate count.

Typical characteristics

  • Case slide or pendant pusher
  • Single snail cam reading quarter divisions
  • One or two gongs or a bell

Identification characteristics

  • Slide in the case band; listen for two-tone strikes (hour then quarter)
  • Smaller striking train than a minute repeater

Collector significance

The most commonly encountered repeating complication in the antiques market, though genuine working examples require specialist servicing.

Known variations

  • Quarter repeater
  • Half-quarter (eight-minute) repeater

Related photographs

E. Mathey-Tissot minute-repeater, c. 1909
E. Mathey-Tissot minute-repeater, c. 1909 — Mathey-Tissot, CC BY-SA 2.5. Wikimedia Commons file page
Gallet minute repeater
Gallet minute repeater — Time Maven at English Wikipedia, Public domain. Wikimedia Commons file page

No confidently matched photograph of this subject has been found yet. These photographs show a closely related record, and are not examples of the type described on this page.

Sources & references

  1. Chamberlain, P. M., It's About Time

Where sources disagree, the disagreement is stated rather than resolved silently.