A Watch That Melted During the Atomic Blast Over Hiroshima, Japan, Sells for More Than $31,000

BOSTON—A watch melted during the Aug. 6, 1945, bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, has sold for more than $31,000 at auction. The watch is frozen in time at the moment of the detonation of an atomic bomb over the Japanese city—8:15 a.m.—during the closing days of World War ll, according to Boston-based RR Auction. The winning bid in the auction that ended Thursday was $31,113. The artifact was recovered from the ruins of Hiroshima and offers a glimpse into the immense destruction of the first atomic bomb detonated over a city. The small brass-tone watch, a rare survivor from the blast zone, was auctioned alongside other historically significant items, according to the auction house. Despite the cloudiness of the crystal caused by the blast, the watch’s hands remain halted at 8:15 a.m.—the moment when the B-29 Enola Gay dropped the “Little Boy” atomic bomb....