A wristwatch found in the wreckage of Hiroshima at the end of World War II has appeared at auction.
The watch is frozen with its hands at 08.15, the exact time the city was destroyed on August 6, 1945, by the first nuclear bomb ever to have been dropped on an enemy.
According to Boston-based RR Auction, a specialist in historic rarities, the watch was recovered shortly after the B-29 Enola Gay dropped the ‘Little Boy’ atomic bomb, which destroyed roughly three-quarters of the city and killed tens of thousands of Japanese citizens.
The small brass-coloured watch, in a 25mm case, is scorched and melted, but despite the cloudiness of its glass, the hands are clearly visible in the 08:15 positions.
The current owner, who has not been named, bought the watch at a British auction in 2015.
He says that a British soldier recovered the watch when he was dispatched to Hiroshima to provide emergency supplies and survey post-conflict reconstruction requirements.
The watch is currently in a live online sale with RR Auction with bidding approaching $20,000. The auction ends on February 23.
It is thought the consigner is selling the watch now because of renewed interest in the nuclear bombing of Japan because of the 2023 film Oppenheimer, which is tipped to win several Oscars.
