Breguet invited some of its VIP clients to enjoy an intimate evening in the company of Randolph Churchill, the great grandson of the former Prime Minister, and the current caretaker of Reference 765, aka the "Turnip," a pocket watch commissioned in 1890 by John Spencer-Churchill, the 7th Duke of Marlborough, and later bequeathed to Sir Winston Churchill.
Arms of the 7th Duke of Marlborough engraved on the back.
And it isn’t any old pocket watch. It’s a yellow-gold minute repeater with a split-seconds chronograph, and a white enamel dial – not entirely dissimilar to General George S. Patton's pocket watch – although the slide and push-pieces are this time on the right side of the pocket watch. It is still in perfect working condition, and has only been serviced once by Breguet some years ago. We enjoyed a brief chat with Mr. Churchill, and learned a fair bit about his great grandfather’s timekeeper.
Arthur Touchot: What is your earliest memory of the pocket watch?
Randolph Churchill: It's always been in the family. But we only put it on display 10 or 12 years ago and it's one of the most popular exhibits at the Churchill War Rooms. But one story stands out to me. In the early part of the war, in 1941, Churchill invited his son [Randolph's grandfather] and his adviser, Frederick Lindemann, around the table and he said, "Prof, you always make things so complicated. I'm going to put my Turnip down on the table and it will chime in five minute's time, and in these five minutes I want you to explain Quantum Theory in words no longer than one syllable." And poor Prof. Frederick Lindemann did so, without hesitation, to everyone's great delight.
AT: What do you know about your great grandfather's pocket watch?
RC: He always had it with him. Although you could argue that my great grandfather was a man of his time and history, he was always late. And it drove all those around him to complete distraction. And there are wonderful stories from Chartwell [his private home] of the private secretaries trying to get Churchill up when the visitors had arrived. And Churchill would say, "Well the visitors are not due here until 10:30," and they would set all the clocks around the house 15 minutes forward, so that they would chime and they could come in and say, "Mr. Churchill, it's 10:15, the guests are going to be here in 15 minutes. But they never got control of what he called "The Turnip" – the Breguet pocket watch which told him faithfully what the time was. And so he knew exactly what was going on.
AT: Where does its nickname "The Turnip" come from?
RC: Tragically, history does not relate, but it was always known as "The Turnip." It's a complete mystery [why it is called that], but life's got to have some mysteries, and I'm afraid that's one of them. But my great grandfather was a great one for expressions.
AT: What does this watch mean to you?
RC: All I can say is that watch gave my great grandfather and all his friends so much pleasure. You know, there was once a Museum that displayed an image of Churchill and they took out the cigar in the picture because it wasn't politically correct, and there was huge public uproar. If you remove the cigar or the pocket watch, he might as well be naked. It was so much part of his being, and I'm sure part of his makeup was, particularly during the war years, to have something constantly there which was part of France. But I must say our family is so proud to have this treasured piece, and what our generation is particularly proud of is our enduring, wonderful, live, and vibrant links with the Maison Breguet.
πηγή:https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/a-loo ... t-grandson
"Το γούστο μου είναι απλό, διαλέγω πάντα το καλύτερο" είναι μια φράση που αποδίδεται στον Winston Churchill και όπως φαίνεται είχε δίκιο
