PAST TIMES

ONE of the most fascinating i items in the history of auction house Fellows went under the hammer with a sale of an extremely rare and historic Second World War Panerai military Diver watch. The Panerai had a hammer price of £41,000 and a price realised (fees included) of £52,316, selling at approximately 12:24pm during Fellows’ Watch Sale on Tuesday January 30 2017.

Bids came flying in from telephone bidders as they went head to head. The tension could be felt across the room as the asking price for the Panerai quickly grew to above £30,000. There were gasps amongst the saleroom as the winning bidder placed £41,000 on the watch.

This model of Panerai watch was initially intended for the Italian Decima MAS until they were taken by the Germans. The German Kampfschwimmer who owned the watch is known to have received special training in Italy and wore an Italian-made specialised rubber dive suit.

According to a first-hand account of the incident, by the solider who acquired the watch, at 06:30am on Sept 29th 1944, German Kampfschwimmers fixed charges underwater to the main supports of the bridge at Nijmegen.

The Panerai was sold with a a hand-written account of the event by Rowson, a section of the rubber diving suit acquired from the German soldier, and photocopies of important documents related to Rowson.

Laura Bishop, watch manager at Fellows Auctioneers, said: “It is amazing to have a piece of history sell at Fellows Auctioneers.

“We are delighted to have been able to sell it for the local family.”

Alexandra Whittaker, a spokesperson for Fellows Auctioneers, said: “Fellows is becoming known for our monthly specialist watch sales and we are happy to have started out first sale of the year with such a prestigious piece as our star lot.

“I am excited to see what our February Watch Sale will bring.”