Rolex is one to watch in Suffolk saleroom
A Rolex Oyster wristwatch has sold for £13,500 in a Suffolk auction house.
Lockdales’ December Sale saw the officially certified Rolex Oyster Perpetual GMT Master Superlative Chronometer climb above its pre-sale estimate of £10,000 to £12,000. It has a black circular dial surrounded by the distinctive blue and red ‘Pepsi’ bezel.
The vendor, who wished to remain anonymous, bought the watch in the late 1960s and kept its original box and ‘Rolex’ tag, which were also included in the sale.
Daniel Daley, Managing Director of Lockdales, commented, “There is currently strong demand for good vintage watches, particularly certain Rolex models, which was shown by the sale price achieved by the example in our sale today.
Elsewhere in the sale, a framed illustration by the late celebrated Daily Express cartoonist Ronald ‘Carl’ Giles, better known as Giles, also proved popular, selling for £1,900.
The pen and ink image by Giles, who lived in Suffolk for most of his life, features a caricature of former Chief Constable of Suffolk Police Herbert Jenkins addressing an aggrieved farm worker who is fly-posting a wall with a poster demanding an increase in wages.
The cartoon, entitled ‘Your 15 per cent pay rise don’t make you Chief Constable, Bert Jenkins’, is signed ‘To Bert with Best Wishes from ‘Giles’ ’73’.
Daniel Daley said, “With his local connections to Suffolk, cartoons by Giles always generate interest, and this was a really nice image that caught the attention of bidders.”
Elsewhere in the sale, other highlights included:
- A Paloma Picasso for Tiffany & Co 18ct yellow gold knot link necklace in pouch fetched a hammer price of £2,500
- An 18ct yellow gold bracelet, with enameled fish set with pearls – sold for £900
- A large wooden jewellery box containing an assortment of gold, silver and costume jewellery – sold for £1,380