Rolex Oyster Cosmograph & Documentation, ca. 1971 | Best Moment | ANTIQUES ROADSHOW | PBS

I brought in a Rolex watch that I had purchased while I was in military I was stationed in Thailand from 1973 to 1975 and while I was there I flew on Air America Airlines and Continental Airlines and I noticed that most of the pilots that were flying those aircraft wore Rolex watches and I was intrigued by him I always wanted to purchase them but they were very expensive later when I was transferred to another base I did some scuba diving and I knew that the Rolex watch was good for scuba diving I found this particular watch where I could afford it and I never used it I looked at it and I said you know this is really too nice that take down on a salty water I just kept it after I got out of the service I had other watches I wore and I just put this one into a safety deposit box it stayed there for 30 or 40 years I only took it out like two or three times to look at it and that was about the extent of it before I brought it here what branch of service were you in I was in the United States Air Force I entered in 1971 my draft number was seven it's pretty low number huh that's not really lucky in the in the draft right no when I found out about that I either had to join the Air Force or another branch or I was enlisted by the 1st of January what do you do in the service I worked in munitions but there's like four different branches and I worked in explosive ordnance disposal to put it simply I helped clear rows of landmines finishing storage areas that had been blowing up or sabotage we cleaned those up there were multiple children and adults that were injured as a result of unexploded ordnance and there's the hazard still is there today you bought this where was it was it at a military store I've ordered it in November 1974 through the bass exchange I believe it came in in April 1975 the amount that you paid you even got a 10% discount it says three hundred and forty five dollars and ninety seven cents was that a lot of money in 1975 to you it was a lot of money for myself over salaries back then it ranged between three and four hundred dollars a month if I have it correct as you know it's a Rolex this particular model is referred to as an oyster Kozma Graf they're also referred to as Daytona's this is a reference six-two six-three you saved everything which is really wonderful the warranty paper was never filled out and was never numbered so you have actually have a blank guarantee which is quite unusual and even over here this paper is blank a blank paper today is probably worth about $2,000 because can be made to match any watch and add value to it so guys would pay money to buy a blank paper you have the original Rolex brochure here for the cosmic graph you have two receipts the order receipt and your payment receipt here you have the original box even the outer box here so these watches as we've talked on Antiques Roadshow have become very collectible and valuable it's got a couple very special features about it underneath the word Rolex and above the word cosmic graph it says oyster and that refers to these screw down buttons here they made this version with and without screw down buttons the ones without the screw down buttons are still water-resistant but this was a much better water-resistant case because you could lock down the chronograph buttons on it it still has the foil sticker on the back with the reference number of the watch 6-2 6-3 had it be worn that would be the first thing we would wear off the watch the date mark on the bracelet shows that it was made in the first quarter of 1971 your watch was made approximately 1971 and you ordered it a couple years later collectors love this watch because Paul Newman Ward and a movie called winning wasn't this particular model it did not have the screw down buttons the one that Paul Newman wore currently at auction those watches are going for approximately a hundred and fifty to two hundred thousand dollars your watch is more special it says it says oyster on it yes they did that for an extremely short period of time we refer to that as a mark to dial and this particular model being marked oyster is extremely extremely rare a watch like this at auction is worth about four hundred thousand dollars you okay I'm not done yet I said a watch like yours because of the condition of it basically it's a new old stock watch no wear on it the original foil sticker on the back of it and the fact that we have all this complete documentation here also may be one of the very few in the whole world that still was never worn your watch at auction today 500 to 700 thousand dollars no I'm very serious oh it's an absolute fabulous fine it's one of the rarest Paul Newman models and in this condition I don't think there's a better one in the world can't thank you enough for bringing me one of the greatest watches to ever see on Antiques Roadshow and thank you very much for your service unbelievable you can't wear it though if you wear it it drops down to the $400,000 value

Channel: Antiques Roadshow PBS

Views: 9,515,205

Rating: 4.9067492 out of 5

Keywords: antiques roadshow, antiques, pbs, rolex, vintage watch, antique watch, watch collecting, Rolex Oyster Cosmograph, paul newman daytona, bonanzaville, fargo nd, appraisal

Id: b9Y4bmbh1KY

Length: 6min 21sec (381 seconds)

Published: Mon Jan 27 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/[deleted]]

Good for him. That's awesome and reminded me of this sweet old man finding out the value of his Rolex that he also bought during his time in the military shortly after WW2.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=li0mRLcGbU8

[u/WriterDave]

Something tells me he won't be the owner of that watch much longer...

[u/uniqueusor]

I could see it in his face, "NO SIR, I AM NOT FUCKING AROUND"

[u/Wretschko]

I appreciated the moment when a passer-by got concerned and looked ready to render aid when he prat-falled and she looked up and was clearly shooed away by the crew.

[u/Opiumthoughts]

That dude looks like every recluse Vietnam vet portrayed in movies. But good awesome story.

[u/International_XT]

So... what do you do when you get an estimate like that, assuming you DON'T want to part with the object in question? Do you insure the piece, lock it away, and pass it on to your grandkids? How do you even insure something like that? Or can you loan it to a museum if it's a museum piece?

What do you actually do with an antique?

[u/iseeharvey]

Beautiful watch. Also if there was a guy that deserves that kind of news he might be that dude.

[u/TonyStamp595SO]

I really appreciate the editing of this programme. As in, it's not like every other American TV show.

[u/Jurdonidas]

This was in my city (Fargo) and if he gets a decent price for that watch at auction, he could buy a really nice house here for that....assuming he's a resident of Fargo