ANTIQUE 1857 DUTCH ROYALTY & CLARIDGES HOTEL18K SOLID GOLD & DIAMOND WATCH + KEY

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ANTIQUE 1857 DUTCH ROYALTY & CLARIDGES HOTEL18K SOLID GOLD & DIAMOND WATCH + KEY:
$24995.00

A SPECIAL MUSEUM QUALITY HISTORICALLY IMPORTANT PIECE FROM ANTIQUETIME.

I AM A 100% POSITIVE ER SINCE 2002-PLEASE offer/BUY WITH ABSOLUTE CONFIDENCE!!

FROM MY PRIVATE COLLECTION.

OFFERED TODAY IS THIS UNIQUE MUSEUM PIECE 18 CARAT GOLD FOB WATCH WITH DUTCH ROYAL PROVENANCE. ALSO INCREDIBLY GIVENBY QUEEN SOPHIA OF WURTTEMBURG (NETHERLANDS)AS A PERSONAL GIFT TO MRS MARIANNE CLARIDGE WHO WITH HER HUSBAND WAS THE ORIGINAL OWNER OF THE FAMOUS CLARIDGE\'S HOTEL IN LONDON.

Sophie of Württemberg (Sophia Frederika Mathilde; 17 June 1818 – 3 June 1877) was Queen of the Netherlands and was the first wife of King William III. She was a cousin of Queen Victoria.

According to my research, there is documentary Internet evidence that Queen Sophia of the Netherlands (or Sophie as she was known in some quarters) visited Queen Victoria in August of 1857. The trip ended on the 17th of August 1857. According to the newspapers of the time, the purpose of the visit was to find out if one of Queen Victoria\'s daughters would be suitable as a wife for her son Prince William. It was the first time she had visited England. My research shows that she stayed at Claridge\'s Hotel in London at some point in her visit and also held and hosted a Whist evening there with some of Englands political leaders.

THE WATCH INSCRIPTION:

The inner case back is inscribed \'Presented by Her Majesty The Queen of the Netherlands to Mrs. Claridge, 17th August 1857\'.

CASE:

This superb 4 piece watch case is made from solid 18 carat gold (tested). The case has a beautiful coin edging. The case back has a fantastic burgundy/brown guilloche enamel finish. The enamel is then set with a white gold applied letter \'S\' FOR SOPHIA Queen of the Netherlands which has 6 old cut diamonds set into it. There are 3 diamonds missing. The enamel work has a swirled finish and looks to have NO losses. There are just some light surface scratches to the surface of the enamel when veiwed under magnification. The solid gold dustcover is in excellent condition and is inscribed with the wording \' Cylindre Huit Rubis No.5284\' The case measures 2.9cms (29mm) in diameter.

DIAL:

This beautiful watch has a bright white enamel dial which is showing no damage. I can see no hairlines. It has black painted Roman numerals which are in excellent condition. The dial has two blued steel hands which are also in excellent condition. The crystal is made from glass and seems to be the original. As such, it has quite a few light scratches under magnification. i can replace it with a platic crystal if the buyer wanted me to, but my own opinion is that it should be left as it is.

MOVEMENT:

This lovely watch has a jewelled cylinder movement which according the the inscription on the dustcover has eight jewels.The movement is in good working order and is key wound and set. The watch winds smoothly and sets as it should. The watch has not been checked for time keeping which is not really important on such an historical piece as this. The movement is Swiss and is unsigned. My watchmaker has checked and lightly oiled the movement.

WATCH CHAIN AND KEY:

This fabulous historically important fob watch is complete with a short solid 18 carat gold chain. The chain measures 8 and a half centimetres or 85mm in length. At the end of this chain there is a most fabulous solid gold key. It has engraved decoration and an absolutely stunning amethyst enamel work running along its length. there is a little wear to one piece of the enamel on the main body of the key which is very small. I have never seen a key and chain in this design and as beautiful as this.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS:• Payment is due 3 days from sale ending unless specified otherwise.• All shipping and handling charges are to be paid by the winning buyer.• I insure all of my packages shipped within the United Kingdom.• I insure (at an extra cost) & register international shipments. There is NO exception.• My return policy is as follows:• Damaged or lost item refunds will be made by the insurance holder (ROYAL MAIL POSTAL SERVICE etc).• I describe all of my items to the best of my knowledge.• You may only return an item if there was a MAJOR mistake made by me in the description of the item that I have overlooked.• I WILL NOT refund any money to you if you did not read the entire description carefully (was smaller than you thought, wrong color, wrong size or not what you thought it was etc...)• Please also note if for some reason you just do not like the item or have buyers remorse I WILL NOT refund.• Because of the vintage nature of this item, no warranty is given or implied.• MY POSTAGE CHARGES ARE FIXED-DO NOT TRY TO NEGOTIATE AFTER THE END OF THE sale.• BE CAREFUL!-IF YOU \"CLICK BUY IT NOW\"- I WILL EXPECT PAYMENT FOR THE GOODS, SO ONLY CLICK IF YOU INTEND TO PAY!!