Vintage designer timepieces are in hot demand so collectors will be out in force to snaffle a special 1960s watch.
Thanks to its rarity, a gentleman’s Enicar Sherpa 600 Super Jet automatic wristwatch could achieve £1,000-£1,500 under the hammer on July 18 at Hansons.
Enicar is a historic Swiss watch brand dating to 1914. When Ariste Racine and his wife Emma Blatt began their Manufacture d’Horlogerie Ariste Racine in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1913, they were unable to sell watches under their name. Emma suggested reversing the family name and Enicar was born.
After the Second World War Enicar modernised. The company boasted their movements were cleaned in a laboratory, leading to the Ultrasonic brand in the 1950s/60s. Enicar also developed a water-resistant case, introducing it as the Seapearl in 1955.
In the late 1950s, Enicar began supplying watches to mountain climbers and adventurers as a marketing exercise. Enicar Seapearl watches accompanied a Swiss expedition to the top of Lhotse and Everest in the Himalayas in 1956. Enicar seized on this publicity by branding their explorer watches ‘Sherpa’. Enicar also proved the ruggedness of their watches by attaching a Sherpa Ocean Pearl to the keel of sailing ship Mayflower II as it crossed the Atlantic in 1957. This led to Sherpa Dive watches.
The 1960s Sherpa will be offered on July 18 at Hansons Auctioneers’ Derbyshire saleroom. Another lot to watch is a George Pierre French Art Nouveau carved horn butterfly pendant, circa 1900, estimate £250-£300. Both demonstrate why auctions spark global interest and hammer highs. They are a treasure trove of rare finds.
To browse Hansons’ July 18-23 Antiques and Collectors Auction catalogue visit www.hansonslive.co.uk. Catalogue due live July 12.
Entries invited for monthly sales. To book a valuation at Hansons’ Derbyshire salreroom, email [email protected] or call 01283 733988.
