Rolex with a hand in the Great Escape fetches £155k
A ROLEX that helped the wartime break-out by British airmen as immortalised in The Great Escape has sold for more than £150,000.
The glow-in-the-dark watch was owned by Flt Lt Gerald Imeson, who was detained in the prisoner-of-war camp Stalag Luft III after his Wellington bomber made an emergency landing off the coast of Belgium.
During the escape attempt that inspired the 1963 film, he was responsible for transporting dirt from the tunnels as they were dug and sprinkling it across the camp.
The Rolex, which sold for £155,000, has radium-painted hands, which meant they could be seen in the dark, as well as being waterproof.
Christie’s, the auction house, said a reliable illuminated timing device would have been needed to ascertain how long men had to crawl through the tunnel and evade guards.
Adam Victor, a senior watches consultant at Christie’s, said: “The opportunity to own an exceptionally rare and beautiful Rolex is worth noting, but the opportunity to own a watch with the extraordinary provenance of this particular 3525 is virtually unheard of.
“It carries with it a tale of perseverance and survival in the face of immeasurable hardship. Telling the story of one man who experienced the entirety of the Second World War, this watch is a testament to the strength of an individual resisting and fighting in the throes of a collective horror.
“Its historical importance is as invaluable as the strength which carried him throughout those years.”
Only three prisoners remained free after breaking out of the camp.
Imeson was 172nd in the queue and was not among the 77 who managed to escape.
After the war, he returned to his wife and his job with the Air Ministry.
He had four children, nine grandchildren and treasured his watch until his death in 2003 aged 85.
Military watches were often seized by prison guards who thought they may contain compasses or a feature that might be helpful to an escape attempt.
However, the Luftwaffe allowed prisoners of war to take advantage of an offer from Hans Wilsdorf, the owner of Rolex, whose sales had been hit by the war. He permitted British officers to buy watches on credit, which they would pay back at the end of the war.
Imeson requested the Oyster Chronograph, which was on his wrist when he was finally liberated in 1945.