Oxford: Rare watch sold for £40k after being saved from skip

Mallams Oxford Library Sale saw more than 500 rare and beautiful antiques go up for auction on Wednesday, May 13.

Among them was a rare Paul Ditisheim deck watch, a white metal, open-face watch with Guillaume balance and twin outer cases, which was estimated to sell for between £5,000 and £8,000.

The rare Paul Ditisheim deck watch sold for five times its estimate at the auction (Image: Mallams Oxford)

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But it blew the auctioneers on the day, selling for more than four times the higher estimate at £40,000.

It comes with a mahogany inner case and outer deck case (Image: Mallams Oxford)

Adding to its allure, the watch was saved from destruction when the vendor’s father prevented it from being thrown in a skip, allowing it to be preserved as an antique.

Duncan, specialist and auctioneer at Mallams, said: “It has been a real joy to have in the saleroom, and what a relief it was rescued. 

“Thank you to all who joined us- we thoroughly enjoyed the sale.”

Duncan, specialist and auctioneer at Mallams, with the watch (Image: Mallams Oxford)

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The watch dial is signed Paul Ditisheim, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Grand Prix Paris 1900, and has roman numerals and blued steel spade hands.

The stunning watch is engraved on the silver cuvette (Image: Mallams Oxford)

An engraving on its silver cuvette reads: “No. 36154 FIRST CLASS CERTIFICATE AT THE Neuchâtel Astronomical Observatory Paul Ditisheim, Manufacturer La Chaux-de-Fonds, THE HIGHEST RECORDS AT KEW, Teddington and Swiss Observatories.”

It also comes with a mahogany inner case with printed silk lining in the lid and an outer deck case, both with numbered ivory plaques.