The timepiece that a British prisoner of war wore during the real ‘Great Escape’ from the Nazi concentration camp Stalag Luft III was auctioned in New York yesterday for 189,000 dollars (178,000 euros).
The anonymous buyer thus remained below the price that Christie’s had expected. The auction house had counted on 200,000 to 400,000 dollars (186,167 euros to 372,335 euros.)
The Rolex 3525 Monoblocco was owned by Royal Air Force Lieutenant Gerald Imeson when it was held at the German concentration camp Stalag Luft III in Zagan (Poland). He wore the timepiece on the night of March 24, 1944, when a group of Allied soldiers made the daring escape. That escape was the inspiration for the 1963 American film ‘The Great Escape’ by John Sturges with Steve McQueen.
Of the 200 prisoners who took part in the plan, 76 escaped for a short time. Imeson was not there. Except for three soldiers, all the men were captured. Fifty men were later executed. Imeson wore the timepiece until his death in 2003, when he was 85 years old.
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