A repeater is a complication in a mechanical watch that chimes the time on demand by activating a push or a slide-piece. Different types of repeater allow the time to be heard to varying degrees of precision; from the simple quarter-repeater which merely strikes the number of hours and quarters, to the minute repeater which sounds the time down to the minute using separate tones for hours, quarter-hours and minutes.
Originating before widespread use of electricity, they allowed the time to be determined in the dark and they were also used by the visually impaired. Today minute repeaters, one of the most complex repeater mechanisms, are coveted by collectors and watch lovers alike as rare masterpieces of precision mechanical engineering.
