Watching shows where people go and get all their dumb shit appraised is like a hard drug to me; of course, I absolutely want to watch when someone presents some shitty family heirloom that has years of sentimental value but isn’t worth the petrol you used to bring it to Antiques Roadshow. I absolutely thrive off watching people get knocked off their dumb high horses when they’re told they’ve been sold a lemon – you simply cannot make that shit up, my friends.
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But when a gentle old bloke finds out that the watch he bought back in the 70s is actually worth a fucken motza? Now THAT’S the good stuff. The diamond in the rough, so to speak.
In a recent Antiques Roadshow episode, which was filmed in mid-2019 at Bonanzaville USA in West Fargo, North Dakota, the season’s biggest find was uncovered. Presented by a sweet older vet, who spent just about his whole monthly pay packet back in the early 70s on a Rolex watch after he’d noticed a few other blokes from the Air Force was wearing them, he legit hit the floor when he got it appraised.
Put aside like a good ten mins and watch this all, because it’s just SO wholesome.
The man ordered the Rolex Oyster Cosmograph back in 1974 while he was posted in Thailand, and kept the bastard thing in mint condition for the next 45-odd years because he didn’t want to ruin it while scuba diving while serving at a different base, and after he finished up his service, he just popped in a safety deposit box with all its paperwork.
Just the fact that he has blank warranty papers in good nick apparently fetches a pretty penny – apparently, those papers alone would go for about $3kAUD because you can apply them to literally any Rolex watch.
When it came to the watch itself, the appraiser noted that it’s the same kind of watch that was worn by movie star and racecar driver Paul Newman. For what it’s worth, Newman’s 1968 Rolex Daytona went on auction for a record $26.4million back in 2017.
He determined that this precious little watch that the vet bought for $345USD back in 1974 is practically a Paul Newman piece, and holds a quote of about $300k. Old mate nodding quietly, clearly processing that bonkers number is incredible viewing.
But then, considering it’s a very rare ‘Oyster’ version of the Cosmograph, had barely been worn, and the serial number is still on the sticker on the back of the watch means this little beauty is in mint condition, upping the quote to just over $1million in Aussie dollars. And bam, he’s on the floor faster than Homer Simpson doing a trust exercise with Hank Scorpio.
A hell of a mood, I wonder what this old mate is up to now if not retiring VERY comfortably.
