*All valuations were correct at the time of broadcast.* The owner is stunned to discover that his random purchase for under a hundred pounds, once belonged to legendary army officer TE Lawrence, who became renowned during World War One. Does the watch’s value increase based on who it belonged to? Hugh Scully and the experts from Antiques Roadshow take a look at some fantastic antiques and the history and stories surrounding them. This clip was filmed in Barnstaple in 2000.
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Good God I better get it in and what you’ve got here is a pilot’s watch Pilots pilot watch I said in fact if you actually put it it’s somewhat large yeah for everyday wear and they were worn outside probably on a big leather or fleece flying jackets and you wore them
With a long strap actually outside so you could read it when you’re in the cockpit and it the date of this one uh we’re see inside there should be the marks of Omega the manufacturer the numbers but there’s also the import Hallmarks yeah and a letter r which I
Think is 1912 Yeah so basically it’s a first world war Pilots watch yeah and hence the the very clear white dial with the black numbers have you heard this valed um well tell me we got it actually it’s I’ll tell I’ll tell you what I got I bought it off
A chop that was dealing in Bricker in Newport Market in South Wales some 20 years ago 22 years ago and there was trouble with the watch it wasn’t keeping time it was stopping so he said if you let me have it back he said I know a man
That can get it fixed but you’ll have to pay what did you pay him um what is it 70 or 80 and I think I gave him about a 10 to get it fixed which was a lot of money that’s a lot of money yeah 20
Years ago yeah 20 years ago yeah well as a watch it’s probably worth in fact more like a couple of thousand or so yeah but this is a repair bill yeah yeah 1933 yeah made out to a te sure of clouds Hill moritan endorsement yeah
That’s right yeah do you know who he is no he got a C Lawrence Arabia good God if I’m correct yeah after the first world war yeah he was a somewhat of complex character and he rejoined I think didn’t he rejoin the RAF under the name of Shaw yeah and I
Think he was killed under the name of sha his motorcycle when dressed in RAF to be honest to be perfectly honest I always thought he was a fiction of car um a character of fiction I do no no no it’s the it’s the TE Lawrence of well as
You said of The Marvelous film and wrote the book yeah I remember seeing the film years and years ago um but I reckon that and he lived I’m sure yeah my recollection is he lived at Cloud’s Hill yeah indors it good God and it’s actually his watch probably returned to
Him in 1930 having been cleaned under the name the pudm that he’d adopted good God so yeah um couple of grand couple a half Grand as just as a watch yeah how much you could add for the Lawrence connection I don’t know he’s one of the most fascinating characters of the early
Part of this Century I would it’s it’s a guess I’d double that maybe five maybe 10 good God i’ better get it in yeah
24 Comments
Id never sell it😂
What an incredible find!
It was the bloke who wrote Biggles that signed him back into service as an enlisted man in the RAF.
This is amazing! What a phenomenal find.
I'd argue this is a museum piece worth millions. Omega is a legendary company, Lawrence of Arabia is beyond legend.
This is one of the most intrinsically unique and important items you can ever come across.
1:50 – Lawrence's own story in his autobiography describes how he successfully re-enlisted to the RAF on 28 Aug 1922 under the name of John Hume Ross, but was later spotted and discharged in 1923, and then how he successfully re-enlisted as Shaw.
In fact, what happened on 28 Aug 1922 was that the recruiting officer was the also-famous "Biggles" author W E Johns, who had no idea who "Ross" really was, rejected him because his name and references were easily proven to be false – but Johns was over-ruled when "Ross" re-appeared an hour later with an Air Ministry messenger carring an order that "Ross" should be enlisted immediately. He was as a result allowed through to the medical exam, which he immediately failed, and the medics absolutely refused to pass him. The Air Ministry then produced their own doctor who signed "Ross" off as fit. Johns complained to his Commanding Officer, who told him who "Ross" really was – and that was the end of that. Johns had never been made aware of the special Air Ministry orders from the Chief of Air Staff Sir Hugh Trenchard that "Ross" was to be enlisted without any fuss, as he was on special espionage duty.
Subtitles please
"I'd double that: maybe five… maybe ten…" Maybe forty…
Glad he didnt take it to rick at gold and pawn, "ya ill give you 100.00 and 50.00 store credit"
I wore what I thought was a fake Omega for a decade. I should have clicked that it was real as my friends grandmother was from Austria, and he offered me my pick in a box of strapless watches, all the others being Timex and common brands. Turns out it was REAL. I took it into an Austrian jeweler in Canada and he said he needed it for parts, as Omega parts were extremely scarce. What?? It's REAL???
A monumentous under evaluation. He said it being Lawrence of Arabias watch it may double or triple the value… more like 25x-50x the value
Much more than 10, a watch that costs severy thousand by itself but is THE Lawrence of Arabia's watch from WW1… wow
I remember watching Lawrence of Arabia as a young lad. I've owned it on VHS, DVD now digital.
What an extraordinary find!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Truly a remarkable timepiece, stand alone. However, being the watch of such a legendary historical figure. I can't imagine the value of such a timepiece. The Rolex Daytona worn by Paul Newman fetched millions of dollars. A watch owned, worn and with the repair bill T.E. Shaw (Lawrence) the watch should be in a museum or kept as a memento for his loved ones. What a brilliant watch.
What a fantastic watch!
It was fortuitous that the guy kept that repair bill and brought it with him, otherwise the expert would have put it down as an interesting but unexceptional watch. The connection to Lawrence makes it unique and irreplaceable.
Oh shi
영국판 진품명품인가
Yes, indeed.
But the next orologist must remove quite a bit of sand remaining in the mechanical movement…
Wow.
I think the dude undervalued the watch by a factor of 10…there is only 1 Lawrence of Arabia watch, someone will pay a fortune for it at the right auction.
Bet you that's seen some action
Remember that Rolex Daytona…
It's like Pawn Stars!! It's worth hundreds of thousands if not millions…