Antique IWC found in Cigar Box from WW2 era

[dannymac55]

I recently inherited some WW2 items from my grandfather who recently passed at 103. He was with the US Army’s 99th Infantry Division and was in theater from the Battle of the Bulge through the end of the war.

Amongst various pieces of Nazi paraphernalia (to include a “black widow” Luger and a K98 Mauser carbine) was this now extremely vintage IWC watch in a cigar box, labeled simply “taken from German soldier”. Probably has been sitting in that box for at least the last 60 years. Received some information that it’s an IWC Caliber 83. It has a “salmon” dial and blue hands.

Going to get it serviced and restored some, then figure out what to do.

[southtexas]

Wow that’s really cool


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[WatchEater666]

Wild. Thanks for sharing

[shaunylw]

That is really cool! Make sure to post some pics when you get it serviced!


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[EdwardC]

Great story. Taken from a German solider, that is like a moive!

[MrGoat]

That is awesome!! If only that watch could talk.


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[etp095]

Condolences to your family, Incredible find, looking forward to it being brought back to
Life. Sure would like to see the other artifacts!

[dannymac55]

Originally Posted by shaunylw

That is really cool! Make sure to post some pics when you get it serviced!


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Absolutely! I’ve posted to IWC just a few days ago.

[dannymac55]

Originally Posted by etp095

Condolences to your family, Incredible find, looking forward to it being brought back to
Life. Sure would like to see the other artifacts!

Thank you! He lived such a rich and full life. The man could have written books to rival Jack London if he’d jotted down his experiences.

Definitely interested to see how it looks after some light work - I thought it was in pretty bad shape, but the person going to do some work on it not only said it was a rare combination, but that it was actually in great condition. I guess we’ll see.

A couple of pics - the first is of the Luger in the “black widow” combination. Clearly the gun metal has patina and the allegedly rare black pistol grips. The second is of the a Mauser carbine after I did some wood cleaning and a coat of boiled linseed oil, per the manufacturer specs. Wanted to renew it some, but leave it’s history intact. The third pic is of a pocket watch he left with a movement dating back to 1909(ish) by the Hampton Watch Co (?). Wound it and it still runs! Can’t tell from the image, but it has indigo blue hands. From a note he left with it, he said he found it near a rail station in Iowa, put an advert in the paper for two weeks trying to return it to the owner, then kept it when there were no takers. A different time.

Plenty of other Nazi party paraphernalia, but due to sensitivities I wouldn’t want to post those here. Got to figure out what to do with it all - I believe in keeping history alive, no matter how awful, so that future generations can see the artifacts and learn from it.

[dannyp]

Any museums in the area with WWII exhibits? Would certainly make nice donations.

[dannymac55]

Originally Posted by dannyp

Any museums in the area with WWII exhibits? Would certainly make nice donations.

I’ve called around to a few museums locally and the national institutions, it appears they’re pretty saturated with this kind of stuff. If nothing else they will become family heirlooms and part of a private collection.