Broken watch bought at car boot sale for £10 sells for £55,000 after it turns out to be rare World War Two Panerai-Rolex

Broken watch bought at car boot sale for £10 sells for £55,000 after it turns out to be rare World War Two Rolex - Panerai

Cheshire man found watch in a chest of drawers at his late father's house
He expected the timepiece - one of just 618 made - to sell for around £500
Auctioneer had to tell the disbelieving vendor final sale price three times
The Rolex-Panerai watch was issued to divers in the Royal Italian Navy

A broken watch bought at a car boot sale for just £10 has sold for more than £55,000 after it turned out to be a rare Rolex issued to Italian navy divers in the Second World War.

The timepiece was found by a Cheshire man in a chest of drawers while he was clearing out his late father's house.

He was so shocked by the result he had to be told the final sale price three times by the auctioneer - as he had expected the antique to go for around £500.

Made by the Italian company Panerai, in a collaboration using a Rolex movement, the oversized wristwatch was sold without a strap and a non-functioning mechanism, but still managed to attract interest and fetch an impressive £46,000 hammer price.

The broken Rolex watch was bought at a car boot sale for £10 but went for more than £55,000 at auction

A Cheshire man found the timepiece in a chest of drawers while he was clearing out his late father's house

It was expected the antique would fetch somewhere around the pre-sale estimate price of £500, but achieved a hammer price of £46,000

With all the fees added, the total price paid by the winning bidder was £55,660.

The timepiece was one of only 618 Rolex 17 Rubis Panerai 3636 watches made between 1941 to 1943.

They were made by Italian watchmaker Panerai but used Rolex movements and were waterproof, with an oversized face which was visible in the dark.

They were supplied to the Royal Italian Navy and used by divers operating human torpedos - missiles they rode underwater that had a detachable warhead which could be used as a timed limpet mine on enemy ships.

The divers could only operate the torpedo craft at night, hence why the watches had a luminous dial and digits.

It is most likely this watch was collected as a souvenir by a British servicemen at the end of the war and brought back to Britain.

With all the fees added, the total price paid by the winning bidder at the auction house was a staggering £55,660

The timepiece was only one of 618 Rolex 17 Rubis Panerai 3636 watches made between 1941 to 1943

The watches were made by Italian watchmaker Panerai but used Rolex movements and were waterproof, with an oversized face which was visible in the dark

It turned up at a car boot sale in the north west of England where it was bought by the vendor's father between 10 and 20 years ago for no more than £10.

Niall Williams, who sold the watch at auctioneers Wright Marshall in Cheshire, said: 'They are quite a rare watch and most of them were engraved by their owners but this one wasn't. 

'It came to us on a valuation day by a chap with it in his pocket.

'The wind-up mechanism didn't work properly and so wasn't in perfect condition. But we had a lot of interest in it and 10 phone lines taken up by bidders.

'When I told the vendor afterwards it sold for £46,000 he thought I had said £4,000 to £6,000 and had to repeat it three times before he believed me.

'I think it is a considerable amount of money for him. It is a remarkable result.'

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