Sold on thesaleroom.com: a rare Heuer chronograph, a monumental Lladró figure and a diving inkwell
02 April 2020 From the thousands of lots that appear at auctions every week on thesaleroom.com, here we focus on three exceptional lots bought by online bidders in recent days.
A Siebe Gorman inkwell - £1600 at Golding Young & Mawer.
A Siebe Gorman inkwell
Novelty inkwells such as this modelled as a miniature six bolt diving helmet and corselet were made by the Siebe Gorman's works in Chessington as promotional give-aways or as gifts to staff upon employment milestones or retirement. They are very collectable. This example, made in nickel plate and mounted onto a black painted mahogany plinth, 5in (13cm) high, appeared for sale at Golding Young & Mawer in Lincoln on March 18. It was estimated at £100-150 but sold to a bidder via thesaleroom.com at £1600.
Lladró’s Cinderella’s Arrival
Cinderella’s Arrival represents one of the most ambitious projects ever undertaken by the Lladró factory. This multi-figured fantasy measures 3ft 10in (1.16m) long and includes details such as gold-plated reins and harnesses are embellished with zircon. Made in a limited edition of 1500 there are still examples available to buy from the factory at £32,000 each.
Lladró collectors were accordingly excited to see a version of Cinderella’s Arrival offered for sale by Featonby’s in North Shields on March 19 at the keen estimate of £2000-4000. Bidding via thesaleroom.com reached £6800 - still a significant reduction on the retail price.
Heuer Carrera Yachting chronograph
Heuer made several watches for the sailing community in the 1960s - the Seafarer, the Mareograph, the Skipper, the Regatta and this watch the Yachting timer or Ref.2447S. Part of the Carrera range, it was the first Heuer case to have a screw back.
This reference 2447S was a special order as it features a custom dial displaying at 3 o'clock three sky blue triangles designed to assist skippers with the 15 minute countdown to the start of a regatta. Only a handful of these watches are known and this example, offered for sale by Burstow & Hewett in Battle, East Sussex on March 18, was in good original condition and in working order. It was estimated at £5000-8000 but, in a red-hot market for ‘tool’ watches from this period, it took £13,000.
