Broken watch bought at car boot sale for £10 sells for £55,000

Cheshire man found watch in a chest of drawers at his late father’s house

He expected the timepiece – one of just 618 made – to sell for around £500

Auctioneer had to tell the disbelieving vendor final sale price three times

The Rolex-Panerai watch was issued to divers in the Royal Italian Navy

A broken watch bought at a car boot sale for just £10 has sold for more than £55,000 after it turned out to be a rare Rolex issued to Italian navy divers in the Second World War.

He was so shocked by the result he had to be told the final sale price three times by the auctioneer as he had expected the antique to go for around £500.

Made by the Italian company Panerai, in a collaboration using a Rolex movement, the oversized wristwatch was sold without a strap and a non-functioning mechanism but still managed to attract interest and fetch an impressive £46,000 hammer price.

With all the fees added, the total price paid by the winning bidder was £55,660.

The timepiece was one of only 618 Rolex 17 Rubis Panerai 3636 watches made between 1941 to 1943.

They were made by Italian watchmaker Panerai but used Rolex movements and were waterproof, with an oversized face which was visible in the dark.

It turned up at a car boot sale in the north west of England where it was bought by the vendor’s father between 10 and 20 years ago for no more than £10.

Niall Williams, who sold the watch at auctioneers Wright Marshall in Cheshire, said: ‘They are quite a rare watch and most of them were engraved by their owners but this one wasn’t.   It came to us on a valuation day by a chap with it in his pocket.

‘The wind-up mechanism didn’t work properly and so wasn’t in perfect condition but  there was  a lot of interest and 10 phone lines taken up by bidders.

‘When I told the vendor afterwards it sold for £46,000 he thought I had said £4,000 to £6,000 and had to repeat it three times before he believed me.  It is a considerable amount of money for him. It is a remarkable result.’

Original source: http://gaukauctionnews.co.uk/auction-news/broken-watch-bought-car-boot-sale-10-sells-55000-turns-rare-world-war-two-rolex/?utm_source=Subscribers&utm_campaign=6d2b8e49a1-2016_Newsletter_1&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c3c30f0c4c-6d2b8e49a1-15588261

More information about collections and available items on sale in: movilla-jewellery.moonfruit.com

adding Texture in Jewellery: Granulation

Granulation 101: How to Add Texture and Style to Your Metal Jewelry Designs

As a jewelry maker, do you ever find yourself just obsessed with a particular style or design motif? For me, pretty often over the past few years, it has been granulation. I love dots in general; polka dots on clothes and housewares are such happy, stylish designs, classic and youthful in nature. I read somewhere that circles or near circles are the most pleasing shapes to the eye, whether found in nature or applied in purposeful design. 
So it's no surprise that I love granulation in jewelry. It's interesting to me that most of the granulated jewelry I see is antique or estate, sometimes very antique ancient museum jewelry. But I'm starting to see it more often in modern designs. I see liquid enamel dots in enameled jewelry designs. I see textured dots and circles hammered into metal, and the soft-solder jewelry craze is full of fun little accent dots. But more and more recently, I'm seeing modern artisan jewelry with a granulated, dotty texture.
Granulation is defined as the "act or process of granulating." More specifically, granulating involves using a flame to turn tiny bits of metal into granules or tiny balls (originally pure gold), and then fusing those tiny balls (or soldering, in some cases, if you're using the term loosely) onto a back plate or base jewelry design. While the term "granulation" isn't as old, granulated jewelry as much as 3,000 years old is known, most originating in what is now Italy.
Granulation provides style, interest, and eye-catching places for light to rest on a design. It's also a wonderful way to add texture to metal jewelry designs. Many of the granulated jewelry designs I see are of the older variety, and that sometimes makes it feel like it's a technique beyond reach for less experienced jewelry makers. Not true! Especially not with Argentium sterling silver. 

You know that Argentium makes the most perfect little balls when you're creating balled head pins, so naturally Argentium forms perfect balls, minus the head pins. 
Original Source and more information: https://youtu.be/mVCAOppp3cY

More information about my collections on sale in: movilla-jewellery.moonfruit.com