Submariner Rolex with Documentation, ca. 1970
Watch
GUEST:
I was a lieutenant and stationed in Japan in 1971, and a friend was going to Hong Kong, said he was going to buy a Rolex watch, and he asked if I would like to get one, also. It cost $110, so I gave it to him, he went to Hong Kong, came back with this watch for me. I've run with it, I've surfed with it, I've scuba dived with it, I've orienteered with it, I've backpacked with it. I was bodysurfing off of Solana Beach, and then I came up, and the watch was gone, and I couldn't find it in the surf. My roommate was the captain of the county lifeguards. Three days later, he came in, and said, at low tide, a young girl, about seven or eight years old, found this watch and brought it to the lifeguard headquarters. I never found out who she was, I wanted to reward her, but I've always appreciated that.
APPRAISER:
And I notice you've kept the paperwork on it, on the box.
GUEST:
Yeah, I just-- I don't know, I'm just sort of a pack rat.
APPRAISER:
It is a Rolex Submariner, it is a diver's model. It has some very collectible features on it. On the dial, the "Submariner" is printed in red ink.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
You said you got it in what year, again-- 1971?
GUEST:
1971.
APPRAISER:
That's the right timeframe for the watch. Is there a reason why you haven't refurbished the watch and redone it?
GUEST:
I've talked to somebody that's collected watches, and they said that refurbishing it would make it nice and pretty, but they said collectors like ones that hadn't been refurbished.
APPRAISER:
You were advised correctly not to change things on the watch and leave it as original as possible, because collectors do like originality. It does have condition issues, but there are some really wonderful things about it. The bezel insert when you first got it on that watch was really a dark black, and it has faded out, and it's very grayish-looking now. Collectors actually prefer it this way. The bracelet has major condition issues. It's missing the end pieces, the band's been pretty stretched out, but that's just from wear. That certainly could be replaced at some point.
APPRAISER:
The crystal is quite scratched up-- it's an acrylic crystal, plastic crystal. It's not a real difficult thing to replace that. The dial should never be touched, always left original. Great that you kept the paperwork because almost nobody saves the paperwork. The warranty was only good for one year. We call this a kit. Market's very strong right now on this watch. And even with the condition issues that we've discussed, this watch today, easily, retails for $20,000 to $25,000.
GUEST:
$20,000 to $25,000?
APPRAISER:
Yes.
GUEST:
My son will buy breakfast this morning, when he finds that out. He's gonna get this watch. Well, that, that's amazing.
Appraisal Details
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