In 1974, an English farmer had his precious Rolex eaten by a cow. Now, 50 years later, the watch found its way back to him, thanks to the incredible restoration work of a team of Dutch watchmakers.
Mr Steele, now 95 years old, was “emotional and delighted” to be reunited with his prized possession, writes RTL Nieuws.
A long journey
Fifty years ago, when farmer James Steele lost his beloved two-decades-old watch in the English countryside of Shropshire, he was devastated.
After frantically searching up and down the meadow, he eventually gave up and went on with his life.
Meanwhile, the Rolex had just embarked on its long journey back to him. Its first stop? Into a cow’s mouth, of course. 🐮
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After a perilous trip through the animal’s intestines, the watch saw the light again and landed in the pasture, where it took a half-a-century break from its travels. 🌱
When a passerby’s metal detector picked it up in June 2024, it was a rusty mess.
Steele, who was just happy to have it back, would have probably kept it anyway. However, the watch had other plans: it resumed its journey, this time headed for Grootschermer in the Netherlands.
An remar-cow-ble job
The Rolex’s Dutch detour was prompted by Steele’s granddaughter, who came across the work of watchmaker Kalle Slaap and his team on Youtube, and asked for their help.
The team, known as the “Chronoglide Watchmakers”, is famous for its crazy watch restoration projects — needless to say, they gladly took on the challenge.
It took over 160 hours of work, but eventually, they restored the Rolex’s looks and functions to its pre-ingestion glory.
A mooving reunion
Once the watch was restored, Slaap and his team travelled all the way to Britain to give it back to Mr Steele — which made for “the day of his life”, as RTL Nieuws writes.
There’s more: on top of telling the time again, the watch might now also be able to prolong it.
According to Steele’s children, the reunion has energised the 95-year-old, who suddenly looks much younger. “I think I can live to be 100,” Mr Steele quipped.
Which long-lost object would you like to find again in your 90s? It’s about time you told us… in the comments below!