The clock is ticking on Sotheby’s final watch sale of the year, scheduled for Wednesday. A total of 51 timepieces are being sold in the online auction, titled “Fine Watches,” with the historical “Victory Watch” being one of the sale’s top lots.
Legendary British naval officer Admiral Horatio Nelson was presented with the gilt metal, gold, and enamel watch by officers on the HMS Victory in 1805. Weeks later, Nelson etched his name into the history books by defeating the combined Spanish-French fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar. He did, of course, lose his life in the process.
Sotheby’s catalog describes the timepiece as “a historical gilt metal, gold and enamel four train quarter striking musical chaise watch playing two tunes, with alarm, moon age and flying fifths.” Its high estimate is £400,000 ($537,000), and the current bid at the time of writing is £65,000 ($87,300). It’s the first time the watch has come to auction in 20 years.
Nelson received the watch just before returning home to Merton Place, the house in Surrey he shared with his mistress Emma, Lady Hamilton, on August 20, 1805 after two years at sea onboard HMS Victory. The presentation of the watch was intended to mark his admiral’s return home to domestic life, but it ended up signaling his final return to naval warfare.
“He arrived home tired, anxious and frustrated that the enemy had eluded him after a frantic transatlantic pursuit. His reception in England was rapturous,” Sotheby’s catalog note reads. “Yet the threat of the massing enemy fleet remained unresolved and by day Nelson was locked in conference at the admiralty and with ministers. On September 2, word reached London that the French and Spanish fleets had combined at Cádiz. Nelson’s inevitable recall swiftly followed.”
“We are delighted to offer for sale such a unique horological masterpiece, made even more extraordinary by the virtue of its provenance and link to a major moment in European history,” Javier Arenas, a watch specialist at Sotheby’s London, told ARTnews. “Whomever becomes the new owner of this jewel of a watch, will also become the custodian of part of Admiral Nelson’s illustrious legacy. It is without doubt one of the last—or perhaps the last—significant gift he ever received by anyone before his death at sea.”
