The reflecting circle consists of a circular polished brass frame, with a detached wooden handle. A detached U-shaped bracket holds a second handle with a brass-lined threaded hole for a third handle, which can also be screwed in the front of the frame. The instrument has three rigidly connected index arms, engraved ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ at the base of each arm on the back of the frame. A double-ended tangent screw and clamping screw are positioned on the back of arm A. It has three index shades, two red and one green, and three horizon shades, two red and one green. Index-glass adjustment is made by a screw and on the horizon glass, with its glass missing, by a screw and a capstan screw.

Attached to the circle is a magnifier on a 233mm arm swivelling on its centre at the pivot and serving all three verniers. There is also a threaded telescope bracket with perpendicular adjustment made by a rising-piece and a milled collar. The sight-tube is 133mm in length. The telescopes and various unidentified parts are missing.

The instrument has a polished brass limb with inlaid silver scale indicated from 140° to 0° to 140°, although the entire scale is divided by 20 arcminutes. The reflecting circle has three silver verniers measuring to 20 arcseconds with the zeros at the left.

The reflecting circle is contained in a square fitted wooden box.

The U-shaped bracket was recommended by Mendoza Rios, and according to him first applied by Troughton.