117 - Ulysse Nardin Le Locle - Cardinal Patrick O'Donnell

Ulysse Nardin Le Locle - Cardinal Patrick O'Donnell (*) A very fine deck chronometer with its original Bulletin de Marche du Chronomètre de Bord and travel case Movm. No. 15260, Cal. 22''', Case No. B 5981, Dimensions 59 mm, circa 1913, Weight 170 g, Origin: Switzerland, Original box, Original certificate Case: Silver, engraved coat of arms and motto “In Hoc Signo Vinces” (“In this sign you will conquer”), guilloché pattern. Dial: Enamel. Movement: Bridge movement, lever escapement, Guillaume screw-compensated balance, blued balance spring with terminal curve by Philipps. The Latin phrase “In Hoc Signo Vinces” (“In this sign, conquer”) is directly connected to Patrick O’Donnell (1856–1927), the well-known Irish cardinal and Archbishop of Armagh. The phrase is the historical motto of the O’Donnell clan of Tyrconnell (County Donegal). According to an old Irish legend, Saint Patrick himself is said to have drawn a cross on the shield of Conall, an ancestor of the clan, promising that his descendants would win every battle under this sign. Since Patrick O’Donnell was born in Donegal, he chose this historically significant motto at his consecration as Bishop of Raphoe in 1888, and later retained it as his official episcopal motto as archbishop and cardinal. The motto ultimately traces back to the vision of Emperor Constantine the Great before the Battle of the Milvian Bridge in 312. Case: very good. Dial: very good. Movement: very good, in working order.