LONDON.- A second previously unrecorded marine chronometer used on the 2nd and 3rd voyages of HMS Beagle was sold today in the Fine Clocks Sale at Bonhams New Bond Street, doubling its pre-sale estimate to achieve £100,900 including buyer’s premium.

It is the only known marine chronometer in private hands that was present on board HMS Beagle when Charles Darwin visited the Galapagos Islands in 1835, where he recorded and collected specimens of the flora and fauna that would lead to his momentous theory of evolution by natural selection, published in his seminal work 'The Origin of Species' in 1859.

By the time the Beagle returned to England in October 1836, Darwin had sailed 40,000 miles around the world and collected more than 5,000 specimens. His notes show that he already understood how his experiences and finds were likely to challenge the established view of the unchanging nature of species.

The chronometer was again on board when the Beagle undertook its third and final voyage in 1837, surveying large parts of the uncharted Australian coast.

One of six owned personally by Captain Robert FitzRoy, commander of the Beagle during Darwin’s voyage, this chronometer performed so well that the Admiralty decided to purchase it from FitzRoy in 1837. The government continued to employ the chronometer on various ships well into the 20th century.

James Stratton, Head of the Clock Department at Bonhams, commented: “This is a fine example of a 19th century chronometer in its own right, but its association with HMS Beagle and Darwin’s epic voyage makes it even more significant and desirable. It sold very strongly and we are delighted with the outcome”.