In the latest episode of Antiques Roadshow, Fiona Bruce took viewers to one of the grandest houses in Wales, Powis Castle. Treasures included memorabilia from the 1966 World Cup, a statue of a lifeboatman and a medal awarded for the rescue of a man who fell into a crevasse. However, it was a watch that caught the attention of expert Richard Price.
As he inspected the watch, Richard began: “So I’m wearing a fairly big wristwatch today, but look at the size of that compared to it. Massive.
“It is heavy. Now, what sort of purpose do you think it served?”
“Well, I have been told that it’s a pilot’s watch,” the guest replied.
When discussing why the watch was so big, she continued: “To be able to be seen I guess while you’re flying.
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“And maybe they wore them on the outside of a uniform, I’m not sure.”
“Well, you’re absolutely right,” the expert agreed as he shared the history of the watch.
“Now, these were made by various factories, but the one that collectors all want is the German factory of A Lange.”
The guest shook her head when asked by Richard whether she had taken the watch apart.
He said if it was A Lange watch it would make a “big difference price-wise”.
“Let’s have a look, it has its stores number there, and inside, it should then have the details on the movement,” the expert said.
“And joy of joys it is A Lange, so it’s the one they all want.”
Richard said the reason the watch is so rare today is that the A Lange factory got bombed in May 1945.
“This is why this is something that everybody wants,” he shared.
“The collectors want the A Lange watch because they are the rarest and the most lovely.”
Turning his attention to the value, Richard asked where the guest’s father found the watch.
She replied: “He got it in Weymouth in a government surplus shop in like the early 70s.
“He was always poking around old shops, antique shops and government surplus places.”
