1978 Rolex Daytona Cosmograph
Watch
APPRAISER:
Oscar!
GUEST:
Hey.
APPRAISER:
Tell me what you brought today.
GUEST:
I brought a Rolex. My dad left it when he passed away. When we were growing up, my twin and I, we were, we would always kind of fight for it, because we always thought it was, like, a nice piece of watch. He decided at the end that he would give it to whomever would go the farthest in education. So... We were kind of competing growing up. Uh, we studied the same things, graphics and arts, and all that. At the end, I got a master's degree and it ended up on my, on, on, on my end, but, uh, we share it. I share it with my brother. It is just something sentimental.
GUEST:
Why do you think your father bought this particular watch model?
APPRAISER:
I have no clue. (chuckles) I think he... I mean, he used to dress really nicely and he liked really cool things. I think he bought it back in the '80s. We're originally from Mexico, and I think he saw it as a precious gift. I have no clue why he chose that specific model.
APPRAISER:
Well, let's talk about the watch a little bit.
GUEST:
Sure.
APPRAISER:
So, we know it's a Rolex.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
It's a Rolex Daytona Cosmograph. The reference number is a 6263. I looked at the serial numbers, and this watch was manufactured in 1978.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
Okay? You see it's got the three subdials for different timing.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
We have the outside tachymeter on the outer ring. It's been given all kinds of different names that only exist in the collectible community. So yours is known as the panda dial.
GUEST:
Really.
APPRAISER:
And that comes exactly from the panda bear, black and white.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
So when you look at it, you see, here you have a silver-white dial. You have the black subdials. Other watches have black dials with white subdials. Most collectors feel that this is the most pleasing dial of all the watches.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
Another feature, you see we have "Daytona" in red.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
Above the six.
GUEST:
I loved the color combination, the black, the white, and the red.
APPRAISER:
It's very pleasing, isn't it?
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
Well, the red on some of them is called the Big Red, and it's a wider, fatter, bigger font. Uh, this is a smaller red. Some other features are, it's a manual wind.
GUEST:
Yeah, I love that. I love hearing the little clicking and... (chuckles) All the mechanical things that comes with it.
APPRAISER:
And you have a screw-down waterproof crown.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
This model has screw-down waterproof buttons. The earlier models of this watch, the buttons could accidentally be depressed, and you might start off a timer or stop a timer inadvertently.
GUEST:
Mm.
APPRAISER:
So to fix that problem, they decided, "Let's make them screw-down," and now you can't accidentally move them.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
Let's talk about some values.
GUEST:
Sure. (laughs)
APPRAISER:
Sound interesting to you?
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
Yeah, all right, so, this dial is perfect. It is the most beautiful dial. No fading, no chipping. No moisture ever got in there. It's incredible.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
Your crystal that covers the watch, that's plastic-- acrylic. It's got a little bit of scratching. But what I like about this is that you've left it just as your dad gave to you. And in this day and age, that's a very important feature on a watch. So...
GUEST:
Cool.
APPRAISER:
In today's market, we hear all about these selling privately, selling at auction, selling for all kinds of crazy numbers. And this one here, this is going to be a little bit of a crazy number, too.
GUEST:
Oh, my God. (chuckling)
APPRAISER:
So, in today's retail market, this watch is going to sell $95,000 to $105,000.
GUEST:
Oh, my God, no way. Oh, my God. (chuckles): That's crazy. Really, I... It's crazy, 'cause I've worn it on the subway sometimes. (laughing): And knowing that I had, like, $100,000 on my watch, on my wrist, wow, that's... Insane-- thank you, Dad. (laughs) I love wearing it, but definitely I'm not gonna wear it that often. Only on very, very special occasions.
Appraisal Details
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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."
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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.
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