Boodle Hatfield advises the L.A Mayer Museum for Islamic Art on the loan of Marie Antoinette’s jewelled watch
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Boodle Hatfield has advised the L.A Mayer Museum for Islamic Art in Jerusalem on the loan of a watch made for the last queen of France, Marie Antoinette, which is set to go on display for the first time in the UK, at London's Science Museum.
The museum announced, last week, that Abraham-Louis Breguet’s external’s No.160 Marie Antoinette timepiece featuring rubies, sapphires, platinum and gold, is to form part of the South Kensington museum’s Versailles: Science And Splendour exhibition, which opens on 12 December. The timepiece that was commissioned in 1783 and completed in 1827, has been nicknamed “the grand complication” and is believed to be the most precious watch in the world, representing something of a holy grail for horologists. The watch was stolen from the L.A Mayer Museum for Islamic Art in 1983 and was missing for more than two decades before it was returned. Its arrival at London’s Science Museum marks the first time the watch has voyaged abroad since its safe return to the LA Mayer Museum for Islamic Art in 2008.
Boodle Hatfield are proud to have advised the L.A Mayer Museum for Islamic Art on the loan agreement for what has been described as “the world’s most famed watch”. The advice was led by Senior Associate, Fred Clark.
Senior Associate, Fred Clark commented: “I am delighted to have advised on the negotiations and agreements for the loan of this watch which encapsulates meticulous engineering and art. The piece is from history’s most celebrated maker and I am thrilled visitors will now be able to enjoy this rare treasure at the upcoming Science Museum exhibition.”
The exhibition will run from 12 December 2024 until 21 April 2025.
