Repeater
A watch which indicates the time by repeating it by means of gongs or bells. There are hour, quarter, half-quarter, five minute, and minute repeaters. They were first made about 1676, and are said to be the invention of Edward Barlow, a clergyman. About the same time Daniel Quare, a watchmaker of London, was working on a model of a repeating watch. Barlow applied for a patent on his invention and Quare, hearing of it, determined to resist him, and succeeded in getting the backing of the Clockmakers' Company, who petitioned the king not to make the grant until the council could see and examine Quare's watch. The council investigated both watches and finally decided in favor of Quare, his watch having but one push piece, while in Barlow's there were two. The principle of all repeating watches is the same, though some arrange the parts somewhat differently.