'Antiques Roadshow' guest holds her chest after expert reveals the value of her 1963 Rolex watch
Rolex is one of those brands that are pretty well known for making expensive timepieces, but the vintage models preserved could fetch an even bigger price. Although they have been featured on several occasions on "Antiques Roadshow" guests who turn up with Rolex watches are shocked by a high valuation for the sought-after brand. One guest who brought her husband's 1963 Rolex GMT Master was also surprised after learning about its true value, to the extent that she had to hold her heart.
During the episode, the guest shared that the Rolex was bought by her husband who served in the Vietnam war. She explained that he had carried the watch and preserved it through two tours, during which he also survived a helicopter crash. "He bought it in 1966, and he was in route to Vietnam for the first tour, so it has endured a helicopter crash," she revealed.
"Then it went through another tour in Vietnam, then he came home and was having a little brawl with our son, fun time, dropped the watch and broke it so I had to have it repaired," she told the show's expert Kevin Zavian.
She explained that the watch was then given to her daughter, who was given strict instructions to get it repaired without it going out of her sight. She added that a Rolex location in Dallas, Texas, then made the repairs in 1998, and the watch was untouched since then.
The expert thanked her husband for his service and then went on to explain the significance of the timepiece. He confirmed that the watch was a 1963 Rolex GMT Master in stainless steel. "This watch has been around a long time — the first one was built in 1954," he explained. He added that the model was only in production till 1980 and the good thing was that the original band of the watch was still intact, as the date was etched onto it. However, that wasn't the highlight of the piece. Zavain explained that two specific features made the watch valuable and rare.
The first was the bezel around the watch face, which was colored half blue and the other half red. "It was very popular for this bezel, which was this blue and red. It's referred to in the business as a Pepsi bezel," Zavain explained.
Along with the bezel, the period of production made the watch even more valuable, according to the expert. "Soon after this watch was made, they switched something in production. If you look over here, these crown guards are pointed. Soon after this year, they went to a much fatter crown guard, and it's not pointed," he added.
Zavian told the guest that both the bezel and the crown guards were distinct features of the GMT Master which made it worth quite a lot of money. The woman shared that her husband got a good deal on the watch as he paid only $150 for it. Coming to the final appraisal, Zavain said, "This watch, at auction, is worth $8,000 to $10,000." The guest smiled ear to ear saying that it was a great return on investment.
However, Zavian added that, unfortunately, due to the repairs made in 1998, some of the original parts were replaced. If the watch came with those parts, it would have been worth $15,000 to $20,000 regardless of the condition. Hearing this, the guest put her hand on her chest.
The expert added that the company used to give back the original parts after repairs but it stopped doing so a while back. Nevertheless, she was thrilled by the original valuation as she couldn't stop smiling.
