Perhaps as few as 1500 were made by this otherwise routine maker, so it is considered the hardest to find of the Dozen.
The handful of Grana watches sold at auction in the past decade have typically sold at prices ranging from £3500-£5500. However, in May 2018 one was sold by Shropshire firm Trevanion & Dean for what was deemed a record price of £9000.
This fine example (with later bracelet) consigned for sale at Sheffield Auction Gallery on October 25 did even better, selling well above the £3500-4000 estimate for £12,000.
An offset operator
This rare A7 Avigation wristwatch, one of just 175 made by Swiss maker Longines for Wittnauer, USA, c.1935, sold for £22,000 at a Reeman Dansie auction.
Shown above, this rare A7 Avigation wristwatch is one of just 175 made by Swiss maker Longines for Wittnauer, USA, c.1935. Its distinctive features are a large-scale offset dial with a single crown/push button to operate the chronograph function.
This particular A7 – subject to a recent overhaul by Longines when a new strap was added – was being sold for the first time at Reeman Dansie in Colchester on September 24.
The watch belonged to the vendor’s late grandfather who is believed to have purchased it in London from one of the numerous antique shops, junk shops and pawnbrokers that he frequented during the late 1930s-early ’50s. Estimated at £15,000-20,000, it made £22,000. Another A7 was sold at Bonhams New York in May 2017 for $34,500.
