Although made of gold instead of silver, this chronometer is almost identical to the one by Houriet, No. 79, sold by Antiquorum in Geneva on October 1999, lot 24. Its movement is typical of Frederic Houriet's work. The caliber is similar to the one used both by Houriet and by Urban Jürgensen for the tourbillon made for Breguet.This watch is published in the Ruscitti book, as no. 44.Jacques-Frédéric Houriet (1743-1830)was born at La Chaux d'Abel. He was apprenticed to his uncle, Daniel Gagnebin, at Renan and later to Abraham-Louis Perrelet. In Paris he worked for Pierre LeRoy, Jean Romilly and Ferdinand Berthoud. Breguet was an apprentice at Versailles but legend has it that they were friends. Houriet remained in Paris for nine years and then returned to Le Locle. With his brother-in-law David Courvoisier, Houriet established a firm for the sale of fine horology (selling house) which he directed for forty yeas.Shortly after his return to Le Locle, Jürgen Jürgensen worked for him and became his agent for Scandinavia. Jürgensen's son Urban, married Houriet's daughter Sophie-Henriette.He set up the first meridian telescope for exact time observation known to Le Locle. For many years, probably from the time of his association with LeRoy and Breguet, he had given thought to the subject of isochronism and had experimented with a variety of forms of the balance-spring. He devised many delicate pieces of apparatus to make tests on the various prototypes, and also invented the spherical form of spring which he found to be perfect.