2024-02-23 21:25:52
A watch that melted in the bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945, sold for more than $31,000 at auction.
The clock stopped at the moment an atomic bomb was detonated over the Japanese city – at 8:15 am – during the last days of World War II, according to RR Auctions in Boston.
The winning bid in the auction that ended Thursday was $31,113.
The clock was recovered from the ruins of Hiroshima, and represents a glimpse of the massive devastation caused by the first atomic bomb that exploded over the city.
The small copper-colored watch was sold at a public auction along with other collectibles of historical importance, according to the auction house, noting that the winner of the auction concealed his identity.
Although the watch crystal became blurry due to the explosion, its hands stopped at 8:15 a.m., the moment an American plane dropped the atomic bomb.
The auction house said that according to its seller, a British soldier recovered the watch from the ruins of the city while on a mission to provide emergency supplies and assess reconstruction needs in Hiroshima.
“It is our fervent hope that this museum-worthy piece will serve as a poignant symbol, not only reminding us of the price of war, but also emphasizing the profound destructive potential with which humanity must strive,” said Bobby Livingston, executive director of the auction house. “To avoid it. This wristwatch, for example, represents the moment in time when history changed forever.”
Other items up for auction included a signed copy of the “Little Red Book” by former Chinese leader Mao Zedong, which sold for $250,000, and a signed instrument from George Washington – one of two known instruments signed by a president and put on the market – for 135,473. The Apollo 11 lunar module preparation checklist sold for $76,533, according to the auction house.
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