Rolex Stainless Steel GMT-Master 1675 Watch, ca. 1960
GUEST: This was my grandfather's watch. He was in the Navy.
APPRAISER: Okay.
GUEST: I'm not exactly sure how he came about owning it.
APPRAISER: Mm-hmm.
GUEST: I know it's a Rolex. (laughs)
APPRAISER: Okay.
GUEST: Other than that, I don't really know anything.
APPRAISER: The watch is a Rolex GMT. It's called a pointed crown guard, which means that the guard that holds the crown comes to a point.
GUEST: Ah.
APPRAISER: That was the early version of the GMT. It's a model 1675. The hands appear to be original. The bezel insert, which is called a ghost bezel.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: This would have been blue and red, and over decades of wear, it's faded, and now the, the term is called the ghost bezel.
GUEST: Ah.
APPRAISER: The most interesting thing about it is the dial, and the dial is now called a tropical dial. The dial would originally been a black gilt dial.
GUEST: Mm.
APPRAISER: And over the years, it's oxidized
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: ...and the lacquer has turned, and it how-- now has a absolutely gorgeous color, of sort of a honey brown. (chuckling)
GUEST: That's lovely.
APPRAISER: So
GUEST: I just thought it was dirty. (laughs)
APPRAISER: So if you followed the rules and you sent the watch in as Rolex would say, every se-seven to ten years...
GUEST: Mm.
APPRAISER: ...that dial and hands and insert would have been changed out at least one time.
GUEST: Ah... Yeah.
APPRAISER: He didn't follow the rules?
GUEST: No. (laughs)
APPRAISER: And you're lucky at this point that he didn't...
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: ...because when you had service dials, they're just worth a fraction of what an original dial was worth.
GUEST: Ah, okay.
APPRAISER: So it would appear that this dial has been on, since the watch is new, which was probably right around 1960. We can't tell if the crystal was original or not. It's, it's very scarred.
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: It's been on there for decades. The bracelet is an oyster bracelet. Now, there's a date code on the bracelet which dates it to the summer of 1968.
GUEST: Oh wow.
APPRAISER: So the wa-- the watch-watch would have been about eight years old. And more than likely, he, for whatever reason, changed the bracelet out.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: It's the original style bracelet, and all the bracelets during that time period all looked fairly similar.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: It showed two time zones simultaneous.
GUEST: Oh, okay.
APPRAISER: So it was used by a lot of service people, and they were sold on, in many of the Army and Navy stores throughout the world.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: It would have retailed for somewhere between $275 and $325.
GUEST: Oh.
APPRAISER: What do you think of value?
GUEST: Honestly, I thought, like, $1,000, maybe.
APPRAISER: The retail value of a watch in this condition would be in the $40,000 to $45,000 price range. (laughing)
GUEST: Are you kidding me? You guys really like to go for the shock value, don't you? That's crazy. (both laughing) I'm going to be very careful about where it goes when we get home.
APPRAISER: A watch with a service dial and service hands would be worth in, like, the $15,000 to $16,000 price range.
GUEST: Oh wow. Yeah.
$40,000 - $45,000 Retail
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Understanding Our Appraisals
Executive producer Marsha Bemko shares her tips for getting the most out of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.
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."
Note the date: Take note of the date the appraisal was recorded. This information appears in the upper left corner of the page, with the label "Appraised On." Values change over time according to market forces, so the current value of the item could be higher, lower, or the same as when our expert first appraised it.
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.
Verbal approximations: The values given by the experts on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW are considered "verbal approximations of value." Technically, an "appraisal" is a legal document, generally for insurance purposes, written by a qualified expert and paid for by the owner of the item. An appraisal usually involves an extensive amount of research to establish authenticity, provenance, composition, method of construction, and other important attributes of a particular object.
Opinion of value: As with all appraisals, the verbal approximations of value given at ROADSHOW events are our experts' opinions formed from their knowledge of antiques and collectibles, market trends, and other factors. Although our valuations are based on research and experience, opinions can, and sometimes do, vary among experts.
Appraiser affiliations: Finally, the affiliation of the appraiser may have changed since the appraisal was recorded. To see current contact information for an appraiser in the ROADSHOW Archive, click on the link below the appraiser's picture. Our Appraiser Index also contains a complete list of active ROADSHOW appraisers and their contact details and biographies.
