A Rolex watch worn by Sir
Edmund Hillary during his successful ascent of the world's highest peak, Mt.
Everest, sold at record price £27,000 (Rs. 4.23 million) in an auction in
London Friday.
Hillary was one of the first
summiteers of Mt. Everest along with Tenzing Norgey Sherpa in 1953.
It was the first successful
climb of the world's highest peak.
A German bidder took home the
Rolex Oyster Perpetual Explorer after paying £27,140 including premium and
other costs.
According to East Anglian
Daily Times, collectors from around the world fought it out on telephone lines
in the main saleroom of Martlesham auctioneers Lockdales as the price was
pushed up to a world record.
Bidding was started at £5,000
in front of a packed audience for one of the most unusual lots ever to be sold
by the company.
Auction manager James Sadler,
said that the watch was truly ultra-rare as it was one of a rare batch that
were designed to work perfectly at altitude, reported the East Anglian.
"Rolex brought a very
limited number out ahead of the epic climb by the party which saw Sir Edmund
Hillary reach the summit with Tenzing Norgay. “The 11 bidders are all dedicated
specialists in their field. Many of them have told us that the previous high
for an explorer watch like this was £17,000. So we are so proud of the
staggering figure achieved on our premises,” the newspaper quoted Sadler.
The successful climb of
Everest took place in 1953. The team was led by Sir John (later Lord) Hunt,
with Hillary and Norgay reaching the summit on May 29.
There were 15 official members
of the Everest team – who were also accompanied by The Times journalist James
(now Jan) Morris.
But they used a further 360
Nepalese porters to make the ascent – so a total of almost 400 people were
involved in the ascent.
Special equipment able to
operate at very high altitude – like the Rolex watch – was supplied to team
members because they were facing conditions no one had come across before.
The story of the conquest
remains one of the great achievements of the 20th century.
New Zealander Sir Edmund
Hillary died at the age of 88 in 2008, Tenzing Norgay died at the age of 71 in
1986 and Lord Hunt died in 1998 at the age of 88.
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