A scuba diver has told how he found a GBP 55,000 Patek Philippe watch a year after it was lost at the bottom of the sea.
The devastated owner had lost the Aquanaut Travel Time watch when he jumped into the sea during a boat trip from Mallorca, Spain.
As he hit the water, reports local media, the clasp failed and the timepiece dropped through seaweed nearly five feet high to the 10 metres down to the seabed.
Now the owner, a Danish baking tycoon, has been reunited with the watch after he turned to specialist deep sea detectorists Mallorca Detecting to find it.
Astonishingly the watch was unearthed from under a mass of coral and sand near Port De Sa Pedra De S’Ase, on 2nd July.
And, despite being rusty around the edges of the case, it was still ticking and keeping time.
Diver Giorgio, 38, who runs the company with his girlfriend Caro, said: “At the spot where the Dane had lost it, there was seaweed one and a half metres [4.9 feet] high.
“In total, I was underwater for almost nine hours and ended up looking for the watch using a marking system specially developed for this complicated case.”
Giorgio created a bespoke search grid using custom-made marker buoys to break down the search area into a gird
But at first, he found only junk.
Georgio said: “There were cans and small metal parts, but not the watch.”
After two unsuccessful attempts, his persistence paid off and during a third dive, he discovered the missing watch.
Giorgio said: “I freaked out with joy and swam straight to the surface to tell the Dane the good news.
“He then immediately informed his son, who could hardly believe his luck.”
The 38-year-old diver declined a finder’s fee for the operation saying the satisfaction of finding the watch was reward enough.
He explained: “The owner of the watch has a well-known confectionery and bakery chain in Denmark, and my partner has an advertising agency for social media here.
“After the find, we sat down and discussed how he could help us.”
When asked about his underwater treasure hunting, Giorgio explained: “It began as a hobby.
“I stumbled upon a report about it and bought a metal detector, which sat in the corner untouched for two years before I gradually became hooked.”
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Story By: Georgina Jedikovska, Sub-Editor: Georgina Jedikovska, Agency: Newsflash
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