PICTURES AND UPDATED MAP: Hunt under way in Doncaster for £1,500 watch as it lands after trip to space

The luxury Seiko Astron watch was sent into the stratosphere yesterday - and estimates are that the watch has landed north of Doncaster in area between Barnsley and Pontefract.

The watch travelled more than 100km, and reached altitudes of approximately 36km above the Earth’s surface – 17km above the Armstong line which is the commonly accepted gateway to space.

At peak altitude, the balloon burst, which would have caused the watch to fall at over 200mph due to the lack of air pressure or wind resistance.

It eventually re-entered the atmosphere where a parachute was deployed, allowing the watch to drift down to a currently unknown location in the South Yorkshire area.

Original weather predictions estimated a Doncaster landing, but a storm briefly changed the trajectory of the flight path toward Cambridgeshire.

The stormy weather itself meant that the launch had to be delayed until 4.30pm, causing the original flight path to re-emerge as the one that the balloon followed.

The launch took place in Carsington, Derbyshire, where jewellery firm and organisers CWSellors has plans to build a new visitor attraction next year to allow people to immerse themselves in the world of jewellery manufacture.

From there, the balloon flew over Matlock, Chesterfield and Sheffield, before bursting above the Peak District, cutting the tracking feed, and floating back in the direction of Rotherham and Doncaster.

Steve Ashby, one of the project organisers, said: “Despite having to delay the launch slightly, the event itself was hugely successful and we are really excited to see the final footage once the watch gets found.

“It has always been our intention to ‘lose’ the watch, creating the treasure hunt that we are now hosting with members of the public.

“We are still working with professionals who are helping us to get a more accurate idea as the where the watch is, and we will be releasing increasingly accurate updates on our social media pages as we get them over the coming days.

“The watch is out there – it’s up to the public to find it!”

The project was overseen by Sent Into Space – a company which specialises in space launches.

Dr Chris Rose, Director of Sent Into Space, said: “This has been a very exciting project to be involved with, but the real excitement starts now.

“We encourage everybody to get involved with the hunt. Help us track down this watch – and if you find it, you can keep it.”

Get the full details of the launch at www.watchintospace.com, on social media at www.facebook.com/jurawatches or by following #TimeInSpace on Twitter.