The watch that the Prince Imperial was wearing when he died has been on quite a journey… taken by a Zulu from the body of the deceased prince, it then belonged to a Norwegian missionary and was eventually exhibited in public in Kwa Muhle Museum in Durban, Kwazulu-Natal, in South Africa.
It was even mentioned in the article of the December 2014 issue of National Geographic France on South Africa: The last paragraph of “Napoléon IV chez les Zoulous” (in French) reported that it was now kept in a safe at the Museum Durban, out of sight to the public. The cause of this withdrawal was not given but there is every reason to believe that the object was no longer exposed for legal reasons in connection with the Wise family's request to have it back.
Two South African articles in the Independent Online (02/25/15) and Sunday Times (08/03/15), take a look at the history of the Prince Imperial's watch and its absence from museum collections. The watch had actually been on loan from the Wise family, but the current heir has requested its return, a year ago. Durban municipality having checked its rights over the watch, the return of the watch to the private collection is now certain.
Glenn Flanagan, director of the Project “Route du Prince Impérial” in KwaZulu-Natal, tried to get in touch with Mr. Wise but has not, to date, received any response to her requests for information as to the future of the watch.