(ThyBlackMan.com) One man almost had a heart attack on the PBS series “Antiques Roadshow” when he learned the current value of the Rolex he had bought for $345.97 back in 1974. The market for pre-owned luxury watch is on the rise, so if you have one, forgotten somewhere, you should get it appraised, as you might be sitting on a fortune!
An unexpected value
You could say that the watch and the reaction of the owner were almost priceless on that episode of Antiques Roadshow. At first, when the war veteran hears the auctioneer say the normal value of such an item on the market, he literally falls down, unbelieving of what he just heard. Many of us would probably have done the same. It is not every day that you are told an item you owe has multiplied its value by 1160!
His watch, a Rolex Oyster Cosmograph reference No. 6263, is usually worth an astonishing $400,000 when sold in an auction. But the host of the show wasn’t done yet. He then went on to inform the gentleman that because his watch was in pristine condition, having never been worn, it was worth even more. Just how much more? He was then told that it could sell somewhere between $500,000 and $700,000. If you have received a Rolex as a gift in the past, it is definitely time for you to take it out, look for the model’s name and then go on a pre-owned watches online commerce, such as Chronext, to verify the current price of a similar model.
A beautiful object and a wonderful story
The US Air Force veteran was asked what lead him to buy such a watch at the time. He then informed the host that since the watch was known for its quality to be used for scuba diving, he went ahead and ordered it through the Air Force Base Exchange. That purchase took place in November of 1974 and the watch finally arrived only half a year later. But when he took it out of its packaging, he decided it was too precious to take it inside the sea with him. So, he kept the Rolex inside a safety deposit for nearly 40 years, taking it out, every now and then, to clean it and look at what had cost him, at the time, more than one month’s salary.
He did not know then that by keeping it in perfect condition with the warranty and the Rolex brochure that came along with it, plus the original box, it would be worth a fortune. But now he does…
Staff Writer; Paul Moore