Two-tier mahogany deck box (much altered) with a brass insert holding the watch under a screwed brass bezel. The silver open-face case is hallmarked for London 1915-16 and is stamped with the sponsors mark ‘F.T.’ (Frederick Thoms). The watch has a gilt winding crown and brass push-piece for hand setting at one o’clock. The two-piece, centre seconds white enamel, has black roman numerals, Arabic five minute figures, and is signed below XII: ‘KULLBERG / LONDON / 8892 / ↑’. It has polished blued steel spade and poker hands with a fine pointer blued steel second hand with a counter poised tail. The watch also has a gilt-brass half-plate keyless going barrel movement with three turned pillars fixed with polished and blued steel screws. The top of the half plate is engraved: ‘V. Kullberg, London / ↑ / No.8892’. It has a ratchet tooth lever escapement with free-sprung compensation balance and blued steel spiral balance spring, with overcoil. Jewelled to the centre wheel.

The rough movement for the watch was first supplied to Kullberg’s by Preston’s in October 1914. Finishing work continued slowly until May 1916 when the Admiralty ordered the watch and it was delivered in July, costing £21. The watch was in Navy service through until 1965 and remained in the MoD workshops until 1972 when it was sent on loan to the NMM.

Victor Kullberg (1824-90) was born in Visby on the Island of Gotland, Sweden. He was trained by the Swedish chronometer maker Victor Soderburg in Stockholm in 1840 and emigrated to London in 1851, having moved to his permanent address at 105 Liverpool Road, N1, by 1870. During his lifetime Kullberg gained many medals and awards for his chronometers and enjoyed a truly international reputation. As well as supplying many foreign governments, he regularly submitted chronometers for the Annual Trials at Greenwich Observatory, gaining first place in 1864 with a chronometer fitted with his newly invented ‘flat rim’ balance. His inventions included several designs of compensation balance and improvements to keyless winding for pocket watches. He also designed the automatic gas-governor for controlling the temperature of the chronometer testing ovens at the Observatory. More than 500 chronometers by Kullberg were supplied to the Royal Navy alone and he can be said to have been one of the 19th century’s finest chronometer makers. On Kullberg’s death in 1890 the firm was taken over by George and Peter Wennerstrom, themselves succeeded by Sanfrid Lundquist who had joined the firm in 1894 and who moved the firm to Cranford in Middlesex in 1938, trading under the name of Victor Kullberg until his death in 1947).