The watch, made by Swiss watchmaker Paul Matthey Doret's firm in the early part of the 19th Century, brings the total number of recovered items following a highly-publicized theft scandal in Russia's second largest city earlier in the year to 31.
The Hermitage, a palace in St. Petersburg built by Catherine II and now used as an art museum, announced at the end of July that 221 items, including icons, medieval and 19th-century jewelry, and silverware and enamels, had been stolen from its Russian section. The theft of items worth a total of around $5 million was uncovered during a routine check.
Three people have been charged so far in the Hermitage theft case, including Nikolai Zavadsky, the husband of an employee of the museum who died last year, and their son.
The police spokesman said investigators found the antique watch after studying documents in St. Petersburg's pawnshops. The watch, which was brought to a pawnshop by Nikolai Zavadsky, was later confiscated from a St. Petersburg collector, who had bought the item at the pawnshop.
The Russian Prosecutor General's Office recently extended the deadline for the investigation into the theft of exhibits from the museum until December 31, 2006.
