Shrewsbury fine art auctioneers secure £15,000 watch for June sale

A RARE gentlemen’s chronograph wristwatch valued at up to £15,000 has been consigned to a Shropshire fine art auction house which has developed a reputation for attracting and selling expensive timepieces.

In the past year, Halls Fine Art in Shrewsbury has recorded a series of excellent auction results for both ladies’ and gentlemen’s watches.

The successes included a rare stainless steel Rolex GMT Master, which was owned and worn by Spanish maritime pioneer Vital Alsar during his Amazon and Atlantic exploration in 1977 and sold for £10,000.

The flow of valuable watches continues at Halls Fine Art’s fine art, antiques, jewellery and watches sale on June 12 when a Tudor Montecarlo Oyster Chronograph wristwatch will be going under the hammer with an estimate of £10,000 to £15,000.

“This watch is still in its original box and has been consigned by a Shrewsbury vendor whose late husband bought it new and wore it only on special occasions, which accounts for its super condition,” said Alexander Clement, Halls Fine Art’s watches specialist.

“It’s a particularly rare chronograph with a rotating dive bezel, rather than the other version which has a fixed bezel with a tachometer scale.”

Other wristwatches included in the auction include a Heuer Camaro chronograph with a panda dial from a Cheshire vendor, which is valued at up to £4,000 and an 18 carat gold Rolex Oyster Datejust from a Newtown area vendor, valued at up to £5,000.

Alexander currently has 16 watches in the auction but is keen to consign more and would love to see examples by Omega, Prolific Watch Company, Patek Philippe, Hublot, Audemars Piguet and Lange & Söhne, as well as Rolex, Tudor and Heuer.

Closing date for entries is May 10 and Alexander can be contacted on Tel: 01743 450700 to consign and value watches.

“The watch market has been increasing in value for the last 20 years because watches are a good, portable commodity that are easy to exchange and also very fashionable,” he said.

“The watch collecting ethos has been growing and there are now magazines, blogs and social media accounts dedicated to watches that have millions of subscribers.

“There are also micro brands that are making good, mechanical watches that are reasonably priced and are giving the Swiss makers a run for their money.

“Investors have recognised that they are been better off putting their money in watches rather than ISAs because the percentage returns have been greater.

“It would be great to offer a Military Issue Rolex Submariner or Milsub, which can sell for up to £80,000 in the current market, depending on provenance.

“Here at Halls Fine Art, we have enjoyed a run of really good Rolex watches and I would love to add to the quality selection that we have in our June 12 auction.”