16 A selection of the watches sold on July 5 <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g the 1973 Rolex Explorer II, which made £18,500. The One to Watch ............................... By Richard W<strong>in</strong>terton We love a bit of good news here at The <strong>Lichfield</strong> Auction Centre and we’ve got lots for you this month! Let’s beg<strong>in</strong> with news of our super auction of timeless timepieces. Bidders from across the world battled it out <strong>in</strong> particular over a 1973 Rolex Explorer II. Less popular commercially follow<strong>in</strong>g its launch <strong>in</strong> 1971 but it’s a very different story for such references today, with the watch highly sought after by connoisseurs and collectors. The dist<strong>in</strong>ctive orange 24 hour hand was orig<strong>in</strong>ally <strong>in</strong>tended to help the <strong>in</strong>trepid wearer keep track of day and night <strong>in</strong> dark places such as caves or extreme environments where the sun never sets. A large triangle marker at 12 o’clock, cyclops eye for the date aperture at 3 o’clock and ‘frog foot’ coronet marked this model out as a watch somehow simultaneously atypical of the brand and qu<strong>in</strong>tessentially Rolex. In f<strong>in</strong>e function<strong>in</strong>g condition and presented on the orig<strong>in</strong>al Oyster bracelet, we expected this to be another timeless example of how v<strong>in</strong>tage watches can powerfully accumulate <strong>in</strong> value and we weren’t disappo<strong>in</strong>ted. The watch sparked <strong>in</strong>ternational <strong>in</strong>terest and f<strong>in</strong>ally sold to a telephone bidder for £18,500! It was part of a private collection of 11 wristwatches <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g a rare Eterna ‘Dirty Dozen’ World War Two British military timepiece, runn<strong>in</strong>g remarkably well despite be<strong>in</strong>g almost 80 years old, which sold for £700. In fact, the entire collection totalled £22,360 hammer price. Other v<strong>in</strong>tage watches <strong>in</strong> the sale on July 5 <strong>in</strong>cluded a 9ct gold Rolex Oyster Precision mak<strong>in</strong>g £1,500 and a 9ct gold Rolex Precision sell<strong>in</strong>g at £1,200. And a Rolex GMT-Master dat<strong>in</strong>g back to 1985 sold for £9,800 <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g premium. Three Omega wristwatches also sparked a great deal of <strong>in</strong>terest. An Omega Constellation chronometer sold for £500 and an Omega Seamaster Cosmic made £320 – both were part of the aforementioned private collection. An 18ct gold Omega De Ville from a private client <strong>in</strong> <strong>Lichfield</strong> sold for £620, a lady’s 18ct gold Jaeger-LeCoultre Hermes made £440 and an Ebel Beluga steel and diamond wristwatch fetched £600. Jewellery <strong>in</strong> the sale <strong>in</strong>cluded a 4.31ct three stone diamond r<strong>in</strong>g, which sold for £8,400 to the absolute delight of our client. Also go<strong>in</strong>g under the hammer on the same day was a large collection of ceramics <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g five large Royal Doulton Prestige figures depict<strong>in</strong>g The The 43cm tall Royal Doulton Prestige figure ‘The Charge Of The Light Brigade’, sold for £1,250. It is <strong>in</strong>scribed with Alfred Lord Tennyson's famous poem. A three stone diamond r<strong>in</strong>g, sold for £8,400. Charge Of The Light Brigade, jester Jack Po<strong>in</strong>t <strong>in</strong> three colourways and a limited edition K<strong>in</strong>g Charles I, totall<strong>in</strong>g £3,490. That day’s sale saw a total of 728 lots go under the hammer with a 97.5 per cent sell<strong>in</strong>g rate, averag<strong>in</strong>g £191 per lot. It’s a great time to sell at auction but also a fab time to buy, whether you’re a dedicated collector or look<strong>in</strong>g to kit out your first home. Because, of course, it’s not just f<strong>in</strong>e art <strong>in</strong> this fasc<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g bus<strong>in</strong>ess of ours. Our superb house clearance team clocked up an amaz<strong>in</strong>g 61 estate clearances and pickups <strong>in</strong> June, preceded by 83 free appo<strong>in</strong>tments for quotations! By the start of last month our wagons were already booked out for July and another wagon is now on order! We are also hir<strong>in</strong>g, due to an excit<strong>in</strong>g expansion… More details to come but if you would like to be part of a happy team all work<strong>in</strong>g together, we’re look<strong>in</strong>g for cataloguers <strong>in</strong> all departments and a saleroom manager. If you th<strong>in</strong>k you have someth<strong>in</strong>g you can br<strong>in</strong>g to the table, please email me: richardw<strong>in</strong>terton@richardw<strong>in</strong>terton.co.uk. I’d also like to add how wonderful it is to see The Hub <strong>in</strong> the Market Square back as a venue for events and performances. Our valuations cont<strong>in</strong>ue there every Tuesday 10am-12.30pm and Ben W<strong>in</strong>terton was pleased to see City Life’s very own Jono when he dropped <strong>in</strong> on our first session back! Ben can be contacted on ben@richardw<strong>in</strong>terton.co.uk. Two Day Antiques & Home Sales are scheduled for <strong>August</strong> 9-10, <strong>August</strong> 23-24 and September 6-7, with a S<strong>in</strong>gle Owner Collection auction <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g Rusk<strong>in</strong> ceramics on Tuesday, <strong>August</strong> 17. Sales start at 9.30am and all catalogues can be viewed onl<strong>in</strong>e via www.richardw<strong>in</strong>terton.co.uk/auction-dates. For auction enquiries and to book an appo<strong>in</strong>tment to view or for a valuation, telephone 01543 251081 or email office@richardw<strong>in</strong>terton.co.uk
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