1963 Rolex GMT Master Wristwatch
Watch
GUEST:
It actually belongs to my husband. But, you know, Texas is a community property state, so I figure it's mine, too. After having had his first Rolex bought off his wrist when we were living in South America, he went to the PX in Panama-- we're retired military-- and bought this. He bought it in 1966, and he was en route to Vietnam for the first tour. So it has endured a helicopter crash, because he was with the first, of the ninth of the 1st Cav Division. It went through another tour in Vietnam, and then he came home and was having a little brawl with our son, a fun time-- dropped the watch, broke it. So I had to have it repaired. So I sent it to my daughter with instructions, "Don't let it out of your sight." She took it to Rolex in Dallas. They repaired it. He's 88 years old. And now we have to have a new band put on it. What would you suggest? Should I send it back to Switzerland, where they could repair it? Or shall I send it to Dallas?
APPRAISER:
What was his rank?
GUEST:
Lieutenant colonel. We call him our hero. A, he came back alive, but he came back wounded, also.
APPRAISER:
Well, I think everybody here at "Antiques Roadshow" would thank him for his service.
GUEST:
Well, we certainly do.
APPRAISER:
So, now, let's talk about the watch. It's a Rolex, stainless steel, GMT Master. This watch has been around a long time. The first one was built in around 1954. This particular model, the reference 1675, was built until 1980. We looked up the serial number-- it's in the eight million range-- was made in 1963. It is the original band.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
And the way I know that is, there's a date from the first quarter of 1963 on the band. It was very popular for this bezel, which was this blue and red.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
It's referred to in the business as a Pepsi bezel. 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. Pointed crown guard, more money.
GUEST:
Okay, okay.
APPRAISER:
Pepsi bezel, more money. More money.
GUEST:
All right?
APPRAISER:
For collectors...
GUEST:
He got a deal.
APPRAISER:
How much?
GUEST:
$150.
APPRAISER:
You had told me when you came up about the bracelet...
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
Being broken. We can see here, it's pretty banged up.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
There's nothing wrong with sending a watch into the company for service. I mean, they manufactured the watch. They certainly know what they're doing. But there's little things that you have to know about a collectible watch at this point in time that you might have done a little differently today that was not even an issue back then.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
All right? So, I'm going to start off with, this watch at auction is worth $8,000 to $10,000.
GUEST:
Okay, good.
APPRAISER:
Good, right?
GUEST:
Big return on his investment.
APPRAISER:
Big return.
GUEST:
Good.
APPRAISER:
Okay, here's the rest of the story. When they serviced it, if you see over here, it says, "Disc for revolving bezel" replaced.
GUEST:
Ah.
APPRAISER:
Right below it, "Dial." And it says there, "Noir"-- black. "GMT," this. In 1998, 21 years ago, replaced. They talk about the second hand. And the other hands.
GUEST:
Yes, yes.
APPRAISER:
Replaced, although I noticed, the red hand, which is for military time... That's the great thing about this watch-- it was actually originally made for Pan Am. And it could easily distinguish between day, night, and then different time zones. When you send the watch in today for service, no problem sending it to Rolex. Have them service the guts, the engine. Have them-- let them do that.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
But do not let them refinish the case. Do not let them replace the dial. In the old days, you used to go get a watch serviced-- in the '60s, '70s-- they would actually give you back the old parts. At some point in time, they stopped returning parts. That old bezel was probably all faded and banged up.
GUEST:
Yes, it was.
APPRAISER:
If it had all been original, $15,000 to $20,000.
GUEST:
Oh, my word. Oh, my word.
APPRAISER:
Yeah, still great.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
But I think it's, there's a big lesson in all that for people out there who have these old watches.
GUEST:
Yes.
Appraisal Details
Executive producer Marsha Bemko shares her tips for getting the most out of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.
Value can change: The value of an item is dependent upon many things, including the condition of the object itself, trends in the market for that kind of object, and the location where the item will be sold. These are just some of the reasons why the answer to the question "What's it worth?" is so often "It depends."
Note the date: Take note of the date the appraisal was recorded. This information appears in the upper left corner of the page, with the label "Appraised On." Values change over time according to market forces, so the current value of the item could be higher, lower, or the same as when our expert first appraised it.
Context is key: Listen carefully. Most of our experts will give appraisal values in context. For example, you'll often hear them say what an item is worth "at auction," or "retail," or "for insurance purposes" (replacement value). Retail prices are different from wholesale prices. Often an auctioneer will talk about what she knows best: the auction market. A shop owner will usually talk about what he knows best: the retail price he'd place on the object in his shop. And though there are no hard and fast rules, an object's auction price can often be half its retail value; yet for other objects, an auction price could be higher than retail. As a rule, however, retail and insurance/replacement values are about the same.
Verbal approximations: The values given by the experts on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW are considered "verbal approximations of value." Technically, an "appraisal" is a legal document, generally for insurance purposes, written by a qualified expert and paid for by the owner of the item. An appraisal usually involves an extensive amount of research to establish authenticity, provenance, composition, method of construction, and other important attributes of a particular object.
Opinion of value: As with all appraisals, the verbal approximations of value given at ROADSHOW events are our experts' opinions formed from their knowledge of antiques and collectibles, market trends, and other factors. Although our valuations are based on research and experience, opinions can, and sometimes do, vary among experts.
Appraiser affiliations: Finally, the affiliation of the appraiser may have changed since the appraisal was recorded. To see current contact information for an appraiser in the ROADSHOW Archive, click on the link below the appraiser's picture. Our Appraiser Index also contains a complete list of active ROADSHOW appraisers and their contact details and biographies.
