Watches Belonging to F1 Great Schumacher Fetch Millions at Auction

One of F1 legend Michael Schumacher's watches sold at auction. Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP
One of F1 legend Michael Schumacher's watches sold at auction. Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP
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Watches Belonging to F1 Great Schumacher Fetch Millions at Auction

One of F1 legend Michael Schumacher's watches sold at auction. Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP
One of F1 legend Michael Schumacher's watches sold at auction. Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP

Eight watches belonging to Formula One legend Michael Schumacher were sold at auction in Geneva on Tuesday for a total of four million Swiss francs (4.4 million dollars/4.1 million euros).
The German seven-time F1 world champion was a passionate watch collector until the skiing accident he suffered in December 2013, since which he has not been seen in public, said AFP.
Two of the timepieces sold at the Christie's auction were personalized gifts Schumacher received from then Ferrari team principal Jean Todt to celebrate his achievements on the racing track with the Italian manufacturer.
An F.P. Journe Vagabondage with a dial honoring the seven F1 world championships Schumacher won was sold for 1,646,700 dollars.
But the piece that went for the most - 2,711,500 dollars - was a vintage pink gold Patek Philippe.
"Our sincere thanks go to our consigners as well as the Schumacher family who entrusted us with the outstanding property of Michael Schumacher. We saw strong global participation, with an emphasis on America" said the auction house's watch specialist Remi Guillemin.



Ancient Egyptian Coffin Given New Life in Britain

Staff at Swansea University welcome back the artifact. Photo: Swansea University
Staff at Swansea University welcome back the artifact. Photo: Swansea University
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Ancient Egyptian Coffin Given New Life in Britain

Staff at Swansea University welcome back the artifact. Photo: Swansea University
Staff at Swansea University welcome back the artifact. Photo: Swansea University

An ancient Egyptian coffin was given a new life after it has been returned to Swansea University's Egypt Center in Wales.

The artifact, believed to date from about 650 BC, is now back at the university after thousands of hours of conservation work at Cardiff University, where it was painstakingly cleaned, reconstructed and consolidated to prevent it from deteriorating further, according to BBC.

The coffin, originally made for a man called Ankhpakhered in the Greek city of Thebes, was transported back under the watchful eye of the center’s curator Dr. Ken Griffin.

Staff described the finished project as “beyond our wildest dreams.”

“The coffin was gifted to us by Aberystwyth University in 1997 but details about its history are sketchy,” Griffin said.

He added: “It actually ended up being used as a storage box at one time, with other Egyptian objects placed in it for safekeeping.”

The university’s Phil Parkes explained that the wooden coffin was covered in textile and then had a thin layer of decorated plaster over the top.

He said: “Much of that textile had become detached over time and was just hanging loose.”

Parkes added that the separate wooden head was detached and there were a couple of large pieces of wood missing, the side of the base had fallen off and it was in a very sorry condition overall.