'Antiques Roadshow' guest gasps for breath after finding out the value of her Rolex watch

It isn't new for "Antiques Roadshow" guests to underestimate the value of their prized possessions, but sometimes they are a long way off the mark. The show is famous for delivering staggering appraisals for Rolex watches, but in a recent episode, a guest seemed to be unaware of this. The owner of a 1960 Rolex GMT who brought the watch in dilapidated condition, admitted that she wasn't expecting to get more than $1,000 for the item. Thus, when the show's expert, Paul Winicki, delivered an appraisal of $40,000 for the old watch, the guest was left almost gasping for air.

In the episode of the PBS show, the guest brought the watch that she inherited from her grandfather. "He was in the Navy. I'm not exactly sure how he came about owning it. Other than that, I don't really know anything," she told Winicki. The expert then took over and explained to her that the watch was a Rolex GMT, and it was a "pointed crown guard," which means the guard of the watch that holds the crown comes to a point. "That was the early version of the GMT. It's a model 1675," Winicki added.

The appraiser further noted that the hands of the watch were original and the bezel had turned into what's called a "ghost bezel." "This would have been blue and red, and over decades of wear, it's faded, and now the term is called the ghost bezel," Winicki explained. He then pointed to the dial, which he revealed was originally a black gilt dial, but over time, it had oxidized and turned into the current honey brown color. "That's lovely, I thought it was just dirty!" the guest exclaimed.

Winicki then explained that if the owner of the watch had followed the company's instruction of taking the watch for service every five to seven years, the hands and the dial would have been replaced. "And you're lucky at this point that he didn't because when you had service dials, they're just worth a fraction of what an original dial was worth," the appraiser said. He further noted that the crystal was scarred, the bracelet was replaced, but everything seemed to be original.

"It showed two time zones simultaneously. So it was used by a lot of service people, and they were sold on, in many of the Army and Navy stores throughout the world," Winicki shared. He then told the guest that the watch would've been bought for about $275 to $325, but its current value was much more. Before delivering the appraisal, he asked the owner to take a guess. "Honestly, I thought, like, $1,000, maybe," the guest said. The expert then blew her mind, saying, "The retail value of a watch in this condition would be in the $40,000 to $45,000 price range." The guest immediately went into shock before exclaiming, "Are you kidding me? You guys really like to go for the shock value, don't you? That's crazy!"

In the end, the guest thanked the expert for the estimate and told him that she would be "very careful" about where the watch goes after she reaches home.

You can watch the thrilling moments here.

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