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The Sun
Derek Trotter with the Harrison
watch
Brothers find missing watch
Two brothers from Peckham, London were celebrating last night after becoming £6.2m richer overnight.
The Trotter brothers, Derek 53 and Rodney 42 received their windfall after auctioning the long lost Harrison lesser watch at Sotheby's yesterday. The brothers found the famous watch in their garage just a few days ago, unfortunately they had had the watch in their possession for over 16 years, believing it to be a Victorian egg timer.
Yesterday evening they were sipping champagne at their local pub The Nags Head with family and friends again after an anonymous buyer paid an astonishing £6.2m for the watch. Which is expected to go on show at a museum.
The pocket watch, the fabled H6 made by English inventor John Harrison has been missing for over 200 years.
Back in the eighteenth century, sea captains found it almost impossible to plot their position out of site of land until Pontefract born horologist John Harrison invented the first accurate marine timekeeper to tell seafarers exactly where they were on the globe. His invention won him a £20,000 prize - a fortune in those days and equivalent to about £2 million in today's money - and he went on to make five more watches. The whereabouts of five of them have always been known but his last one - the lesser watch, as he called it - disappeared.
The designs for the watch are kept at the National Maritime Museum, and the watch itself is expected to join them today.
Both Trotter brothers were so shocked at just how much the watch finally sold for that they both fainted during the auction. Derek said yesterday " It was when he said £250,000 that I came over all funny. " Rodney added " This is a dream come true for us... I just cannot believe it. "
Market trader Derek went on to say " The first thing I intend to do is buy myself a Rolls-Royce and a new house. I've always said that this time next year I'll be a millionaire, and now my dream has come true. "