106th Auction

2022/5/21

Lot 164

A. Lange & Söhne

An aviator's navigation watch of the German Luftwaffe with indirect centre seconds and hack feature

Sold

estimated
4.5006.000 €
Price realized
8.800 €
specific features
Case
Steel, push back, extra long aviator's leather strap.
Dial
Black.
Movement
Manual.
Case no.212225
Cal.48/1
Diam.55 mm
Circa1942
Ctry.Germany


These timepieces were exposed to all kinds of stress in everyday use. As the aircraft cockpits were not cushioned in any way, the cases of these pilots’ watches were usually subjected to much wear and tear and timepieces such as this with hardly any signs of use are extremely rare to find.
The sale of the military goods produced during the war began with aviator’s watch no. 210131 on September 26, 1040; the last watch to be sold was no. 216978, sold on April 30, 1945. The total production contained 6,904 timepieces with calibre 48/1; to avoid providing information about targets to the enemy, no manufacturer’s names were engraved from 1944 on.
Source: www.knirim.de