A variety of wristwatches look set to be the ones to watch in a Suffolk auction house’s next sale, with hopes that one rare World War Two example by celebrated Italian designers Panerai could make up to £30,000.

Lockdales Auctioneers’ sale on February 20 includes the Italian-designed watch, which was used by frogmen in the Germany navy.

An engraving on the back of the watch reads ‘L.K. 700 Kampf Schwimmer HK Marine 1945’. This engraving refers to the LehrKommando 700, or L.K. 700 training camp on the island of Sylt in Northern German, which was a base for training German combat divers. It is believed the engravings could have been created by the original owner, with the initials HK, using a modified razor when the island was under British control following the end of the war.

The watch has a Rolex 17 Rubis movement, a black dial face and luminous Arabic numerals. It also has luminous baton hands and was working at the time of cataloguing.

Managing director of Lockdales Daniel Daley said: “These watches are extremely sought after by collectors, with many willing to pay thousands to add them to their collection. We’re already getting lots of interest from around the world so have high hopes that this, and the other watches in our sale, will do well.”

The auction takes place at Martlesham Heath, Suffolk.

Elsewhere in the sale, other watches are also set to generate interest among bidders, including a gentlemen’s Rolex Datejust wristwatch with an estimate of £3,750 to £4,250.