Jewel__A_Celebration_of_Earth_s_Treasures

LUDWIG II’S POCKET WATCH 195

T

his 19th-century pocket

watch bearing a crown

and monogram on the

front, and a horse’s

head on the reverse, was

most likely made for King

Ludwig II of Bavaria, an

eccentric and controversial

figure who died in strange

circumstances.

The pocket watch was

made in around 1880 and

consists of gold, enamel,

diamond, and ruby, with a

matching chain and fob seal.

An applied gold-mounted, diamond-set

entwined monogram of Ludwig II,

surmounted by his crown, adorns the front

of the case. On the reverse of the watch, is

a silver-mounted, pavé-set diamond horse’s

head, with ruby-set eye: this elaborate

decoration acknowledges Ludwig’s

passion for horses. The gold-link chain

of textured knots and four turquoise-

and diamond-set, barrel-shaped

links, representing the Bavarian

coat-of-arms, terminates in a fob

seal of a gold horse leaping from

a turquoise cabochon.

Ludwig II was just 18 years

old when he took the throne.

Young and good-looking,

he was popular in Bavaria,

but was little concerned

with affairs of state, instead

commissioning fanciful

constructions such as the fairy-tale

Neuschwanstein Castle. His ministers

deposed him by having him declared

mentally unsound in 1886, and Ludwig

was removed to Castle Berg on Lake

Starnberg on 12 June. The next day, his

body was found in shallow

water with that of his minder,

Dr von Gudden. His watch

had stopped at 6:54pm.

Although suicide by drowning

was reported as the cause of

death, no water was found

in his lungs, and his death

remains unexplained. This

watch – not the one present

at his death – was auctioned

in 2007.

Key dates

1806–2007

1800

1825

1850

1875

1950

1869 Construction

begins on fairy-tale

Neuschwanstein

Castle, the shy king’s

prospective retreat

2000

1900

Ludwig II’s pocket watch

The music room at Neuschwanstein Castle, the lavish 19th-century castle,

still open to visitors today, that was one of Ludwig II’s pet projects and where he

intended to hide from the public eye

△ The front of the watch casing, showing the king’s monogram

2007 Ludwig’s pocket

watch is auctioned by

Christie’s in Switzerland

1806 Bavaria

becomes a

kingdom

1845 Ludwig Otto

Friedrich Wilhelm is

born on 25 August

Ludwig II of Bavaria, who ruled

the country from 1864 until his

deposition in 1886

Neuschwanstein

Castle, in Bavaria

1886 On 12 June,

Ludwig II’s ministers

have him declared

insane and transport

him to Castle Berg on

Lake Starnberg. The

next day, Ludwig and

his doctor, Dr von Gudden,

are found dead in the

lake’s shallow water in

suspicious circumstances

1864 Maximilian II dies,

and Ludwig II succeeds

his father, aged 18

c.1880 Ludwig II’s

presentation pocket

watch is created

1835 A new coat

of arms is created

for Bavaria

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