Watches

1980 Rolex Daytona "Big Red" Watch

Appraisal: 1980 Rolex Daytona “Big Red” Watch

Transcript

GUEST: This is a watch that belonged to my father, and I inherited it from him when he passed away about 30 years ago. I believe my mom told me at one point that it was given to him. He was a, an accountant, and it was given to him in lieu of cash for some work he did for someone. So I don't know that he actually paid money for it. I didn't wear it for very long. I was waiting tables at the time, and I thought having a Rolex on my wrist probably wasn't going to help my, my tips too much. So I took it off, I put it in a drawer, and it's been sitting there for 30 years. I was told that it would cost me about $500 to have it opened up and get it running again, and I wanted to see if it was going to be worth investing that much money into the watch.

APPRAISER: What you have here is a Rolex Daytona. The reference is 6263.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: The serial number on this watch dates it to 1980. They're still producing the Rolex Daytona. It's a different model, but it still looks very similar to this. And this is what collectors refer to as a "sports watch." This watch was created in Switzerland. You have the screw-down crown rather than just a normal pusher.

GUEST: Right.

APPRAISER: It is a chronograph, which, you see the pushers to start, stop, and reset, on the side of the watch. On the bezel, you have a ring that you could calculate the speed of an object.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: So that helps with racing. Today, the modern versions, they're very hard to get, because everybody knows them, everybody loves them. And this isn't the first Rolex Daytona, but it still is a vintage Daytona.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: The vintage ones do demand more money.

GUEST: Right.

APPRAISER: And this one is referred to as the "Big Red." And that is in regard to the red script on the dial where it says "Daytona." The Daytona is a watch that's very well-known, very well-coveted. One of the big names regarding Rolexes you might hear is Paul Newman.

GUEST: Sure.

APPRAISER: Great actor, he also raced. He had a watch that had a bit of a different dial. Just as this is the Big Red dial, his watch is referred to as the "Paul Newman" dial.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: What would you think something like this would be?

GUEST: I've looked online, and I've seen people selling similar watches from anywhere from $1,000 or $2,000 to tens of thousands. I have no idea where this would fall.

APPRAISER: If you were to have it repaired, anything cosmetic you do not touch on this watch.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: Something cosmetic, you could lose as much as $10,000 to $20,000.

GUEST: Wow, wow.

APPRAISER: A retail value would be $70,000 to $90,000.

GUEST: (chuckling) Oh, okay. Not running?

APPRAISER: Not running.

GUEST: Wow, okay.

APPRAISER: As long as everything's there. Having it running is an easy fix.

GUEST: Oh, my goodness, wow. (chuckles)

APPRAISER: I think a $500 repair is...

GUEST: Yeah. That's a solid investment.