A woman was shocked when she discovered a watch her dad bought for £20 is actually worth thousands. The woman brought the Second World War pilot watch onto BBC1's Antiques Roadshow on Sunday, April 2.
The episode - which was based at Powis Castle and Gardens in Welshpool - saw antiques dealer Richard Price tell the woman that the watch was a very rare and sought-after collector's item. He said: "It is a Second World War watch for the Luftwaffe used by the German Air Force during that particular combat.
"It would have had a massive leather strap that went around a big heavy flying jacket. The [face] is painted with a radioactive substance called radium. If you are going to take it apart, please seek specialist advice."
He said pilot clocks were made by numerous factories at the time, but this particular watch was made at A. Lange & Söhne based in east Germany. During the war, the factory was destroyed, meaning they are the "most rare and most lovely" of their kind.
Richard looked amazed when the woman told him how the watch came into her father's possession. She said: "He got it in Weymouth in a government surplus shop in the early 1970s. He paid £20 I believe. Is that a good buy?"
Richard laughed and said he would be "delighted" if he paid that price, adding: "It is the rarest of all the manufacturers and the one that collectors all want." The woman looked at him in a state of bewilderment when he told her it is currently worth between £8,000 and £10,000.
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