Hunt and I spoke in Cambridge, at Trinity College, where he is a professor of engineering and the Keeper of the Trinity College clock, a renowned timepiece that gains or loses less than a second a month.
The price breaks not only the previous record for the renowned eggs, of which around 60 are thought to have ever been made, but also for Russian artwork, excluding paintings, and for any timepiece, clock or a watch.
The first Astronomer Royal, John Flamsteed, compiled the most accurate star catalogue of his day as part of this attempt (though the solution was eventually provided by John Harrison, a clock maker who designed a timepiece that was robust enough to withstand the rigours of sea travel, and was thus able to substitute for the stars in the relevant calculations).