Wristwatch recovered from the ruins of Hiroshima, Japan, shortly after the B-29 Enola Gay dropped the ‘Little Boy’ atomic bomb, which detonated above the city on August 6, 1945, during the final stages of World War II. The bomb destroyed roughly three-quarters of the city and killed tens of thousands of Japanese citizens, including, presumably, the original owner of this timepiece. The small brass-tone watch, 1'' x 1.25'' is scorched and melted. Despite the cloudiness of its crystal, its hands are clearly seen frozen at the moment of detonation — 8:15.
The consignor affirms he had been informed a British soldier recovered this watch when he was dispatched to Hiroshima to provide emergency supplies and survey post-conflict reconstruction requirements while at the Prefectural Promotion Hall in Hiroshima. In 2015, an anonymous collector offered it for sale at the JP Humbert auction house in England. It was purchased and eventually sold to the consignor.
120 timepieces collected after the bombing of Hiroshima are contained in Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Museum. While the current example may be modest in size, it is immense in significance, marking the dawn of the nuclear age and heralding what could very well be the twilight of civilization — a historic artifact that is among the more evocative objects to exist.
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