A gobsmacked guest on Antiques Roadshow was left nearly floored live on air, when expert Peter Planes delivered a staggering valuation of his vintage Rolex watch. The American version of the show stopped by Bonanaville, in the heart of North Dakota, where the veteran shared that he had been inspired to purchase the timepiece by pilots he encountered during his military service in Thailand between 1973-1975.
He divulged his motivation behind the acquisition: "I've brought in a Rolex watch that I had purchased while I was in the military, I was stationed in Thailand from 1973 to 1975.
"While I was there, I flew on the American and continental airlines and I noticed that most of the pilots that were flying those aircrafts wore Rolex watches and I was intrigued by them. I always wanted to purchase some of them but they were very expensive."
The military man also reflected on how the practicality for diving swayed his decision: "Later, when I was transferred to another base, I did some scuba diving and I knew that the Rolex watch was good for scuba diving. I found this particular watch where I could afford it and I never used it. I only took it out two or three times to look at it and that was about the extent of it before I brought it here."
It wasn't just the watch itself but the full package that caught attention – the guest brought the complete set of original documentation and packaging. Planes highlighted the item's market demand: "So, these watches as we've talked about on Antiques Roadshow have become very collectible and valuable," reports the Express.
"It's got a couple of very exciting features about it. Underneath the word Rolex and above the word Cosmograph it says the word Oyster and that refers to the screw-down buttons here. It still has the foil sticker on the back with the reference number of the watch 6263.
"The date mark on the bracelet shows that it was made in the first quarter of 1971". Peter further intrigued the viewers by mentioning that this model is particularly sought after by collectors as it is associated with American actor Paul Newman, who wore it in the 1969 film Winning.
He shared that the type of watch worn by Paul Newman in the notable movie can fetch between $150,000 (£115,800) and $200,000 (£154,400) at auction. But then Peter revealed an even more astonishing detail about the guest's watch. "They did that for an extremely short period of time, we refer to that as a mark two dial. And this particular model, being marked oyster, is extremely, extremely rare. A watch like this at auction is worth about $400,000 (£308,900)."
The revelation proved too overwhelming for the veteran owner, who was struck with disbelief and collapsed to the ground. As Peter rushed to assist him, there was yet another surprise in store.
Without missing a beat, Peter continued: "I'm not done yet. Because of the condition of it, it's basically a new old stock watch. There's no wear on it, the original sticker on the back of it, and the fact that we have all of this complete documentation here.
"It also, maybe one of the very few in the world that was never worn, your watch at auction today is worth between $500,000 (£386,100) to $700,000 (£540,600)." The owner was left speechless as the auctioneer expressed gratitude for presenting such an extraordinary discovery.
He enthused: "It's an absolutely fabulous find, it's one of the rarest Paul Newman models, and in this condition, I don't think there's a better one in the world. Thank you for bringing me one of the greatest watches I've ever seen on Antiques Roadshow and thank you very much for your service".
Before proceeding to the next guest, the expert cautioned the owner against wearing the watch to avoid slashing $100,000 off its value. He advised: "You can't wear it though. If you wear it, it drops down to the $400,000 value".
