丘吉尔手表将被拍卖象征着欧洲的和平与团结

　　Despite its name no longer appearing on watch dials, defunct Swiss manufacturer Lemania is experiencing a resurgence thanks to the inexorable growth in interest in military watches.

　　虽然沉寂已久的瑞士制表商Lemania的名字不会再出现在表盘上了，但幸亏人们对军用手表的兴趣又开始高涨，Lemania又有了复苏之势。

　　However, its a civilian model that seems primed to break all records for the brand: On April 25, the Lemania watch given to Winston Churchill by the Swiss canton of Vaud is being auctioned Sotheby’s in London.

　　然而，打破这一僵局的是一块款式平平的表：4月25日，瑞士Vaud州曾送给温斯顿·丘吉尔的Lemania表将在伦敦的Sotheby’s表店拍卖。

　　The chronograph was presented to Churchill during the summer of 1946 when he stayed in village of Bursinel, Switzerland, in part for a break after the war years, as well as a period for speech-writing.

　　1946年丘吉尔身处瑞士小村Bursinel，在此进行战后休养，同时准备着他的演讲稿，在那段时间这块计时表被当作礼物送给丘吉尔。

　　In early September, he made a trip to Lausanne, where the local populace thanked him for his role in the Second World War. It was then that the government of Vaud presented him with that most Swiss of creations: a fine gentleman’s wristwatch.

　　九月初，他去了Lausanne，当地人都对他在二战作出的贡献表示感激。就在那时Vaud政府赠予了他这个瑞士的杰作：一块做工精良的男士腕表。

　　Later that month, he delivered his famous address proposing "a kind of United States of Europe," ending it with the words "Let Europe arise."

　　在那之前的前一个月，丘吉尔发表了那篇著名的演讲，在其中提出“一种欧洲大陆的团结”，并在结尾说“让欧洲腾飞发展吧”。

　　The gift symbolized Churchill’s "vision of peace and unity in Europe," Joanne Lewis, head of watches at Sotheby’s, told the Press Association.

　　Sotheby’s表店老板告诉记者协会，这件礼物象征着丘吉尔“对欧洲和平与团结的展望”。

　　Prior to this wristwatch appearing for sale, the most famous of Churchill’s watches was a Breguet pocket watch, which was in daily use. (Lemania was absorbed by Breguet and is now part of the Swatch Group.)

　　在这块腕表拍卖之前，丘吉尔用过最有名的表是一块Breguet怀表，也是他在日常生活中常用的一块表。(Lemania已被Breguet公司收购，如今是Swatch Group的一部分)

　　Churchill kept the watch all his life, and its condition suggests that he wore it frequently. Having passed through his family, it was sold privately to the current, anonymous owner.

　　丘吉尔一生都保留着这块表，这说明他经常戴着它。经过家族的代代相传后，这块表最近被私人卖给了一位没有透漏姓名的人。

　　Sotheby’s has provided an upper estimate of about $31,000, but considering the usually pessimistic estimates provided by the auction houses, this conservative figure might be exceeded if either a Lemania or chronograph collector enters a bidding war with a Churchill aficionado.

　　Sotheby’s表店估计这块表最高会卖到3.1万美元，但是考虑到拍卖行悲观的预计，如果Lemania或计时表的收藏者们和丘吉尔死忠来一场如火如荼的拍价较量，这一数字就有被超越的可能。

　　As an added fillip, given the political climate, this watch could prove to be the ideal accessory for a Remainer who wants to prove Churchill wouldn’t have supported Brexit.

　　另外一点有意思的是，在当前的政治环境下，对于那些希望英国留欧的人来说，这块表无疑是证明丘吉尔不支持脱欧的最理想证据。