German military watch

German military watch dating from 1942 to go under the hammer at Fellow’s auction

The Luftwaffe timepiece, which designed by A. Lange & Söhne and has an estimated value of £12,000, will be auctioned at the sale in Birmingham on Tuesday October 15.

A military pilot watch issued to the German Air Force during the Second World War is set to be auctioned at Fellow’s upcoming watch sale.

The historic timepiece, which was designed by A. Lange & Söhne and has an estimated value of £12,000, will be auctioned at the sale in Birmingham on Tuesday October 15.

The Beobachtungs-uhren (B-Uhr) watch, which translates to observation watch, has luminous Arabic numeral hour markers, designed to assist in the dark.

The 55mm watch dates back to 1942, when military watches were issued to German pilots for specific missions and returned once the mission was over.

The watch has a case number FL23883, is instantly recognisable due to its unique size and luminous sword-like hour markers and is fitted to an unsigned brown leather strap with a base metal pin buckle.

With a stand-out base metal case, this is one of the many sought-after historic military watches to have gone under the hammer at Fellows in recent years.

Laura Bishop, watch manager at Fellows Auctioneers, said: “Military watches are completely unique in their ability to instil excitement and wonder.

“This WW2 German Pilot wrist watch by A. Lange & Söhne is an exceptional piece of history and we are honoured to be able to showcase it in our sale.

“Who knows what exactly this watch experienced during its missions in the war but we know for sure that it has led a fascinating life. I can’t wait to see how it sells at auction.”

Lange & Söhne designed luxury watches from the mid-19th century until the original company ceased to exist in 1948, shortly after the Second World War.

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