Pocket watch

Belonged to the French General Jean-Andoche Junot (1771-1813), who commanded the Napoleonic troops at the first invasion of Portugal in 1807 and was defeated by the Anglo-Portuguese army commanded by Arthur Wellesley (1769-1852), the Duke of Wellington. It was resold to the House of Breguet by Laura Junot (1784- 1838), his widow, in 1813, and came to the possession of Sir Rowland Hill (1772-1842), who served under Arthur Wellesley and, ironically, gifted it to him. It remained the property of the Wellington family until 1964 when it was auctioned and acquired by António de Medeiros e Almeida.