| LOT 296 |
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| ROLEX, REF. 5512, SUBMARINER POINTED CROWN GUARDS, METER FIRST
GIFTED TO ISSER HAREL, DIRECTOR OF THE MOSSAD FROM 1952-1963.
Rolex, Submariner, Ref. 5512, No. 578451. Made circa 1959.
Fine and historically important, center seconds, self-winding, water-resistant to 200 m,
stainless steel diver’s wristwatch, the back engraved with the emblem of the State of
Israel, Mossad motto and name Isser Harel in Hebrew.
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| C. Three-body, polished and brushed, screw-down case back and crown, graduated
bi-directional revolving black bezel for the decompression times, Twinlock winding
crown protected by the crown guard.
D. Black with luminous round, baton and triangular steel indexes, outer minute track.
Luminous steel skeleton hands.
M. Cal. 1530, rhodium-plated, 25 jewels, straight-line lever escapement, monometallic
balance, shock absorber, self-compensating Breguet balance spring, shock absorber,
index regulator.
Dial, case and movement signed, case with date code for the third quarter of 1960.
Diam. 40 mm. Thickness 14 mm. |
Estimate: 18,000 CHF - 28,000 CHF
Estimate: 20,000 USD - 30,000 USD
Estimate: 15,000 EUR - 23,000 EUR
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Grading system
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| This fi ne example of a Rolex Ref. 5512 with pointed crown-guard and rare exclamation dial watch was owned by one of the most
powerful men in Israel in the 1950s and 60s and dates from his time as Director of the Mossad. The specially engraved back has
the motto of the Mossad in Hebrew around the Israeli State emblem and Isser Harel’s name in Hebrew.
Isser Harel (1912-2003)
Was a key figure in Israel during the second half of the 20th century and involved in several very significant events. After
the creation of Israel in 1948, Harel founded and became the fi rst Director of Israel’s internal security agency Shin Bet. He
became the Director of the Mossad a year after it was created in 1951, remaining until 1963. As chief of two of the nation's
three intelligence agencies, Harel wielded considerable power in Israel's fi rst 15 years. In his capacity as Mossad Director he
oversaw the daring and audacious abduction and secret transportation to Israel of holocaust organizer Adolf Eichmann for
crimes against humanity and the Jewish people; Eichmann was executed in Israel in 1962. Isser Harel was also responsible
for the intelligence coup which cemented the Mossad's reputation with Western intelligence agencies. In March 1956, at the
Communist Paty’s 20th Congress, Stalin’s successor Nikita Kruschev had brutally denounced his predecessor’s cult of personality
in the closing speech of the Congress. U.S. Intelligence agencies had word of this but were unable to get hold of a copy of this
so-called “Secret Speech”. However, some copies had been distibuted to a few Eastern-bloc countries and a Jewish journalist
in Poland got hold of a copy and delivered it to the Israeli embassy in Warsaw, who sent photocopies to Harel in Tel-Aviv. Harel
shared the speech with his counterparts in other Western intelligence offi ces, and most notably counterintelligence spymaster
James Jesus Angleton of the American C.I.A. |
Important Modern & Vintage Timepieces
13-05-2012 |
Sold including buyer's premium:
248,500 CHF |
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