Watch given to Horatio Nelson by William and Emma Hamilton, 1799.
Gift of Moss Davis, 1930.
  
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The plaque on the front of the watch stand reads:
Admiral Lord Nelson’s watch. A watch by Thomas Ivory, Dundee in metal gilt case, the back engraved H.N. from W. & E. H., 1799, in shagreen outer case. Presented to Admiral Lord Nelson by Sir William and Lady Hamilton.
Nelson had met Sir William Hamilton and his wife Lady Emma at Naples in 1793, but it was not until he convalesced in Naples in late 1798 that his relationship with Emma began. Their daughter Horatia was born in January 1801.
The watch is a typical “verge” watch of the period. Verge escapement watches were the standard personal timekeepers of the period. The movement is gilt brass with baluster pillars and pierced balance cock typical of such watches. The regulator is Tompion style (disc with key square). The cock has a decorative diamond endstone. Shagreen is a form of dyed cured sharkskin, frequently used at the time on small personal articles.
Moss Davis purchased the watch from Christie’s sale “Nelson and other relics” held on June 17, 1930. It was described as the “Property of a gentleman, and formerly the Property of the late Miss Pamela Hardy, great-granddaughter of the brother of Capt. Thomas Hardy, R.N., from whom the objects had descended.”
In a letter to John Barr, director of the Library and Art Gallery, Moss Davis wrote “.. I feel sure that this memento will give particular pleasure to many in your City”. | 
