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A gold watch key containing a lock of hair from Martha Jefferson

Christie's Auction

The key to Thomas Jefferson's broken heart

Keys are a hot jewelry trend thanks to Tiffany & Co., which launched a collection of diamond, gold and silver keys in 2009.

But the key as an ornament is nothing new. Thomas Jefferson owned an engraved gold watch key containing a braided lock of his late wife's hair. A devoted watch collector, Jefferson likely commissioned the watch key as a poignant reminder of his wife, Martha, who died at age 33.

The rare personal keepsake is coming up for auction at Christie's New York on January 22. It is estimated to sell for US$40,000-80,000.  

Born in 1748, Martha Wayles married Thomas Jefferson on New Year's Day in 1772. Unable to recover from the birth of the couple's sixth child, she grew increasingly ill over a period of months and died on September 6, 1782.  Jefferson never remarried.

The front of the key is beautifully engraved with Martha Jefferson's birth and death dates, and the reverse bears a clear case through which the braided lock of hair is visible. Made in England or France, this watch key could have been acquired abroad, when Jefferson served as Commissioner and Minister in Paris from 1784 to 1789, or from American retailers who imported European watches. While Jefferson himself wore a silver watch, he owned and gifted a number of gold examples and from 1783 to 1819, scholars have found over 30 references to Jefferson purchasing or repairing watches and watch parts. In Paris, Jefferson favored the watchmaker Louis Chantrot, whom he described as "the best and most faithful hand in Paris," and as recorded in Jefferson's account books, purchased from him several watches, including a gold watch and key on June 1, 1786.

The Jefferson watch key is consigned for sale by Mrs. Jane Bortman Larus, daughter of the noted Americana collector Mark Bortman (1896-1967). Mr. Bortman gave the watch key to his daughter Jane as a graduation gift.