Darwin's Beagle voyage chronometer realises 49% increase on high estimate

Darwin's Beagle voyage chronometer realises 49% increase on high estimate

A marine chronometer designed by William Edward Frodsham and used in Darwin's first voyage on the Beagle, has sold for £74,500 ($127,551) at Bonhams London.

The piece crossed the block in a sale of Fine Clocks on July 9, achieving an increase of 49% on a £50,000 ($85,605) estimate.

Frodsham chronometer 2
The chronometer was a highly accurate timepiece used to navigate while at sea

The Beagle left Plymouth, UK in 1831, returning five years later having travelled widely across the southern hemisphere.

It was on this voyage that Darwin (1809-1882) began to formulate his theory of evolution, which would have an incendiary effect on the sciences when it was published in 1859.

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