The sextant has a black-lacquered aluminium frame consisting of two circular plates, the upper having an ivorine overlay and a wooden handle to be screwed in the lower plate. There is no tangent or clamping screw and the index arm is moved by hand. The instrument has no shades. Index- and horizon-glass adjustment is made by capstan screws with an adjusting pin shipped inside the handle. The sight vane has one pinhole mounted within the frame.

The instrument has an ivorine scale along the rim of the upper plate, from 0° to 90° to 0° by 30 arcminutes. The scale is read by a black indicating line in an ivorine index mark at the end of the index arm.

The sextant is contained in a fitted wooden box containing a Hydrographic Department packing note dated 3 June 1918.

The Paget sextant was designed around 1892, and brought on the market by H. Hughes and Son.