A chronometer used on the Beagle's groundbreaking voyage to South America and the Galapagos is estimated to make £30,000-50,000 ($50,660-84,435) at Bonhams.

The lot will feature in the July 9 sale of fine clocks in London.

It's one of 22 chronometers known to have been used aboard the ship and was recently discovered - raising the total number of recorded survivors to three.

The other two examples are in the collection of the British Museum, making this the only specimen available on the market.

Chronometers are used as an aid to navigation while at sea

Darwin's observations on the 1831-1836 journey led to the publication of On the Origin of Species in 1859, which had an explosive impact on the sciences.

The lot was designed by the famous clockmaker William Edward Frodsham (1804-1825), who died shortly after its completion.

It was also used in a range of other important voyages, including the North American Boundary Expedition of 1843-1846 and an 1857 survey of the coast of Australia.

The Frodsham family were famous for their clocks and chronometers, with many achieving five figure results at auction.

In 2010, a pocket watch with an 18k gold half hunter case by Charles Frodsham (1810-1871) made $40,000 at Christie's New York.

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