Hitler wore a Reverso?

I can't believe nobody is talking about the auctioning of Hitler's wrist watch.

https://www.fox5dc.com/news/hitler-watch-sold-alexander-historical-auction-maryland

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A Maryland auction house has sold a wristwatch that once belonged to Adolf Hitler for $1.1 million.

Alexander Historical Auctions in Chesapeake City had estimated the value between $2 and $4 million, describing the watch as a "World War II relic of historic proportions."

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An interesting article by Franz Rivoira (which contains a link to a short video of Hitler consulting a pocket watch from his coat's breast pocket while surrounding officers scurry to show him the time on their wrists) makes me skeptical about the veracity of this watch being a personal artifact. However, this thing is a Reverso, right? It sure looks like one. I thought that JLC was very, very protective of their ancient intellectual property, hence the reason I never see knockoffs.

I can't help but dig up my old joke about being a white dial supremacist. I'm surpised AH had a black-faced watch, but I guess that went with the color scheme of the day.

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thats mindblowing. i didnt know adolf hitler got a reverso in his collection 😂

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From the fonts used, the relevance of the dates, to the fact that Hitler was seldom photographed with a watch, it reeks of the "authenticity" of overly stamped Mauser rifles.

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Wow that is pretty mind blowing.  Not sure why anyone would want to own a watch he wore.  

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It IS in fact a Reverse but interestingly JLC has officially not acknowledged its existence or authenticity. 

“Any inference that this is an authentic Jaeger-LeCoultre watch would be a falsehood and the company would take action accordingly,” the company states.

I guess they're hoping people quietly forget about this over time and they can get back to business as usual. 

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valleykilmers

It IS in fact a Reverse but interestingly JLC has officially not acknowledged its existence or authenticity. 

“Any inference that this is an authentic Jaeger-LeCoultre watch would be a falsehood and the company would take action accordingly,” the company states.

I guess they're hoping people quietly forget about this over time and they can get back to business as usual. 

I think it's not that, but that it is likely as authentic as Rommel's air conditioning unit that Al Bundy bought. 

The dates on the watch don't make a lot of sense, especially 5.3.1933. That election was not that significant. Dates were usually reserved for births , weddings or anniversaries on personal items. The style also really doesn't fit, and there is no indication that A.H. ever wore such a watch.

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The name on the dial is Huber which the Google tells me was a Munich watchmaker of some repute (ow owned by Bucherer).  JLC made the movement, according to watchpro, which would not be surprising given how many freaking movements they made.  JLC refuses to accept responsibility for this watch (unsurprising as to the owner but also it's not their dial).

So my ending conclusion, Hitler wore homages/redials.  Go figure 😂😂😂

Honestly, as much as Hitler stands against literally everything I believe in, I'm not sure there's much controversy here.  Castro wore a GMT Master 2.  Kim Jong Un wears a Portofino.  Watch media lovingly describes Al Capone's Rolex Prince, Lucky Luciano's Patek 1516, or Pablo Escobar's iced out day-date.  Lots of really shitty powerful people own nice watches (and some decent enough people too).  I can't get worked up over this one (but then again, I don't feel like Paul Newman when I wear a Daytona, so maybe I have limited appreciation for prior wearers of a watch I happen to own).

Of course, this, of course, presumes that this watch is even legitimate.  As folks have said, he never wore a wrist watch in pictures.

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If the piece did belong to Adolf Hitler it is of historical significance. The really interesting question is whether it was genuinely owned and used by him? I will be surprised if that can ever be proved one way or another.

Somebody with more money than sense was willing to buy it,as unsavoury as that seems to most of us.

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I was waiting for someone to post a story about this. If I were the watch maker I wouldn't claim that watch either. Were they forced to make it? Did they make it for him before his evil doing? Either way I wouldn't take claim to it. That watch along with anything that belonged to that man should have been destroyed. Yet I used to help run an auction hall. It's history. To destroy history is to destroy mankind. I guess you can say also that it's only a watch. It's not the sickest Nazi memorabilia I have seen. I have seen and held in my hands silver bars, serial numbered with swastikas on them. The serial numbers indicating that the silver came from the teeth of Jews from a concentration camp. It's all sickening pieces of history. If we don't preserve this history then people will forget allowing it to happen again. I hope the buyer of the watch does something positive with it. That's all we can hope for. 

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Shbamn50

I was waiting for someone to post a story about this. If I were the watch maker I wouldn't claim that watch either. Were they forced to make it? Did they make it for him before his evil doing? Either way I wouldn't take claim to it. That watch along with anything that belonged to that man should have been destroyed. Yet I used to help run an auction hall. It's history. To destroy history is to destroy mankind. I guess you can say also that it's only a watch. It's not the sickest Nazi memorabilia I have seen. I have seen and held in my hands silver bars, serial numbered with swastikas on them. The serial numbers indicating that the silver came from the teeth of Jews from a concentration camp. It's all sickening pieces of history. If we don't preserve this history then people will forget allowing it to happen again. I hope the buyer of the watch does something positive with it. That's all we can hope for. 

yeah it was made in 1934 I believe. He was as as monstrous a leader and person as could be imagined at the time, but nowhere near the levels of evil that came later. But sadly, i'd suspect that if any watchmaker had been commissioned to make him a watch even as late as 1944 I have no doubt they would have done it. Despite their pious outrage now. 

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Awesome post. Obviously i can't tell if this is the truth but it would fit to Hitler. He was passionate about Art in general, the reverso fits perfectly. Also, even if Hitler inflicted enourmous amount of pain, the watch is historically important. He owned so much art which is clearly considered relevant, why wouldn't this watch? 

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Figures it'll be on Fox News.

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I own a copy of Mein Kampf, published in Munich in 1939, printed in Fraktur, the whole nine yards. I found it just sitting there on the shelf at the Housing Works Bookstore (part of an AIDS charity with roots in ACT-UP, so hardly any kind of Nazi organization), so I bought for like $10. I get the sensitivity around such a thing, and I don't advertise that I have it, but to me it's a curiosity a bit of history. I could read it, but aside from the contents Fraktur would make it tedious.

That said, I've always found it curious that Fliegers are so loved in the community, and when talking about it people go on about it's German and military heritage, but never finish the thought, that the military was the Nazi Luftwaffe, worn by pilots while bombing London. That always struck me as disingenuous. It's whitewashing. If you are going claim history and heritage for something, and value that thing for it, at least own up to what the heritage is.

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It wasn’t a JLC Reverso, but a Huber. They still exist as 3 jewelry/watch stores in Germany and are owned by Bucherer. Interestingly, Huber glosses over the time period from 1938-1944 in their company history. BBC had a much better write-up about the auction:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-62355010.amp

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"I thought that JLC was very, very protective of their ancient intellectual property, hence the reason I never see knockoffs."

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:)

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Coming soon Joseph Stalin pocket watch auction.🤣

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Funny enough, the Hitler Rants Parodies YouTube channel did a Downfall parody about this sale:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7A4sG5LJHI