Military Vet Collapses When He Learns How Much His Rolex Is Worth

This Air Force veteran was stationed in Taiwan in 1973 when he first noticed the Rolex watches on air pilots’ wrists. Intrigued, he set his heart to getting one even though they were pricey. A short time later he managed to save up for a Rolex Oyster Cosmograph watch made in 1971. He intended to use it for sea diving, but after he bought it he just thought it was too nice to wear.

So, for the next 40 plus years, he kept the watch in a safe place along with everything that came with it – the box, the receipts, the warranty papers and more.

When he brought it to the Antiques Road Show in 2020 he had no idea what he was about to hear. Firstly, appraiser Paul Planes mentions that the blank warranty paper with the watch is worth $2000. Then, he tells him that the “Oyster” watches are very desired by collectors because Paul Newman wore the watch (without the screw down buttons of this one) in the movie ‘Winning’. Those watches go at auction for around $150,000.

But Planes then tells the vet that his watch is “more special.” That’s because his watch has the screw down buttons. Planes says that the special features makes the watch more valuable and watches like these go for around $400,000.

When the Rolex owner hears that he is literally floored and collapses to the ground. But Planes isn’t done yet. When the man gets back up Planes spells out what he thinks the watch is really worth.

Planes concludes his session by telling the vet that it is the greatest watch he has ever seen, adding, “I don’t think there’s a better one in the world.” The full name of the make and model is called the Mk2 screw-down Rolex Oyster Cosmograph exotic dial ‘Paul Newman’ reference 6263.

Although Planes says it’s worth between $500,000 to $700,000, commenters on the video say that the watch actually sold at Christie’s Auction for 1.35 million USD. A similar model sold at Christies in 2019 for $486,000.

Unbelievable! As one person commented, “He took care of the watch for half of his life. Now, the watch is going to take care of him for the rest of his life.”

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