Buddy Holly’s diamond watch to be auctioned

Buddy Holly’s wife, Maria Elena Holly, is auctioning off several personal artifacts of the rock n roll legend.

The items include a diamond-and-white gold Omega wristwatch he was wearing when he died in 1959. The watch was a gift from his wife. It is inscribed on the back ‘Buddy Holly 12-1-58,’ the date she gave it to him as an early Christmas present. Later, Holly s father, Laurence, wore it in honor of his son in the family s hometown of Lubbock, Tex.

The singer was only 22 years old when the plane he was flying in crashed in Iowa on February 3, 1959, also killing singers Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson. All three were travelling to Fargo, North Dakota, the next venue in their Winter Dance Party Tour.

Maria Elena Holly married the singer just months before the crash. She met Buddy in 1958, while working as a receptionist in a music publishing firm. Now she has three children from her second marriage, which ended in divorce.

Unreleased Holly recordings, his passport and other personal items also will be on sale. Holly’s widow explains she wants his fans to have something of him to treasure and pass on to their children. Heritage Auction Galleries and Auctioneers in Dallas will sell the items on April 14 and 15. Doug Norwine, director of entertainment memorabilia with the auction house, thinks the watch could sell in “six figures.”

Despite his short career, Buddy Holly wrote several legendary songs, including “Peggy Sue,” “That’ll Be The Day” and “Maybe Baby.” As one of singers who created the sound of early rock ‘n’ roll, he influenced a generation of artists, including The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

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