Converted Rolex Red Submariner, ca. 1974
Watch
GUEST:
In 2007, I was working in the Virginia Army National Guard, and I had a sergeant major who presented me with an opportunity to buy, uh, several Rolexes. They were all older. He was into the estate hunting business, and I said, "Eh, sure, I'll take it."
APPRAISER:
What did you pay the sergeant major for the watches?
GUEST:
So, three watches, $5,000, uh, financed over about two years.
APPRAISER:
Okay, and do you wear the watches?
GUEST:
Rarely.
APPRAISER:
Rarely.
GUEST:
Rarely.
APPRAISER:
Okay, well, this watch is interesting, because it's what in the watch business we would call a Frankenstein.
GUEST:
(chuckles)
APPRAISER:
So this is a Rolex model 1680, and this is the, uh, first Submariner that had a date on it. It had an acrylic crystal, and the watch was made right in through the late '60s into the mid-70s. The serial number of this watch dates it to about 1974.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
There were no gold and stainless versions of a Submariner during that time period.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
So, it was not uncommon for a customer to walk into a Rolex agent and say, "I have a two-tone Datejust," which did exist at the time, "and I'd like to make my Submariner a two-tone." (chuckles)
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
So the watch is fundamentally correct.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
The movement is right, the case is correct, but the hands are gold hands from a later date. The bezel, which holds the insert, is a gold bezel from a later watch.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
And the crown is a gold crown from a later watch.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
In the beginning years of the Submariner, the word "Submariner" was in red. That becomes a very highly collectible watch for sport watch collectors today. The dial appears to be correct. It's called a Mark IV dial. The insert, which is what's inside the gold bezel, is called a Mark III.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
So, those two things correspond perfectly with the 1974 production date.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
So I'd have no doubt that this watch came out in '74 as a stainless steel Submariner. But a long time ago, just based on the looks of it...
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
...and the fact that you've already had it for 14 years, somebody did a conversion. So, from a, a standpoint of value, um, today, at retail, as a Frankenstein, this would probably trade somewhere between $15,000 to $17,000.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
All right?
GUEST:
Thank you so much.
Appraisal Details
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