A collection of wristwatches has sold for over £20,000 at Whitchurch auctioneers Trevanion and Dean’s latest Antiques and Fine Art auction.

The wristwatches were consigned by a south Shropshire vendor who had decided it was time to part with his exclusive collection.

Among the 10 watches from this particular collection were popular heritage names such as Rolex and Longines and they were hotly contested at the firm’s October 20th auction by both national and international buyers.

Auctioneer Christina Trevanion said: “Big name wristwatches are proving to be a very timely investment with our buyers at the moment, watches as a commodity have grown 5 per cent in the last 12months, 35 per cent in the last five years and 67 per cent in the last 10 years, so it’s no surprise that they are being snapped up in the saleroom by our bidders keen to make a savvy investment.”

Swiftly following the highly successful silver, jewellery and watches sections at the firm’s monthly auction came a rare post-war football programme which had caused ‘jaws to drop’ when it was brought to an antiques valuation morning in Overton on Dee in September.

The unique Official Programme was for the FA Cup fourth round tie in January 1957 where local team Wrexham FC played international superstars Manchester United at the Racecourse Ground.

However, what made this example important is the fact that it is signed not only by Manchester United manager Matt Busby but also seven of his players, known famously as the ‘Busby Babes’ including Duncan Edwards, Mark Jones, Bill Foulkes, Dennis Violet, Billy Whelan and Jim Murphy.

A little over a year later some of players who had signed it died as a result of the Munich Air Disaster on February 6 1958.

The signed programme created massive pre-sale interest and sold for £650 to a private collector who fought off international competition to secure his purchase.

The auctioneers also reported strong results in the traditional furniture market where a hunt table from a country house near Shrewsbury sold for £1,200 and a collection of Tunbridge Ware boxes and objects of virtue from an Oswestry based collector sold for £6,000.

Trevanion and Dean’s next auction of Fine Art and Antiques will be held on November 17 and entries close on Friday November 2, already included within this auction is a selection of fine Arts and Crafts silver.