The Antiques Roadshow team visited Woodhorn Museum in Northumberland where treasures included a gold Rolex watch from the 1980s. The luxury item belonged to a guest’s late father who used to wear the diamond-encrusted watch with pride every day. However, when clock expert Alastair Chandler valued the expensive accessory during a recent episode of the BBC show, the guest refused to sell it.
Alastair began: “Well the watch you have brought in today certainly can’t be described as subtle or discreet.
“It’s fantastic, it’s a gold, diamond-set Rolex, it’s an iconic watch from the 1980s. Can you tell me how it’s come to be in your possession?”
The guest explained the striking watch once belonged to his late father who died in the late 1980s. Following his death, it was passed down to himself.
He told the expert: “We had it sat in a vault until I was a little bit older but now it’s my watch.”
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Alastair revealed: “If you were a successful business person in the 1980s this would certainly be the watch you would be wearing.”
The model is called a Rolex President, which led Alastair to ask his guest whether his father was a “Wolf of Wall Street”.
The guest quipped: “I think he would probably like that name. Yes, he had his own businesses and started out from a very working-class family from Hull.
“He worked his way up with his printing and labelling company.”
The watch came with three dials, an original leather box and the original guarantee certificates.
After a closer inspection of the piece, Alastair revealed how much it was worth today, saying: “At an auction, you are probably dealing with around £12,000 to £15,000.”
The stunned guest replied: “Wow, that’s great but I won’t sell it though.”
Alastair added: “It’s a lovely watch and he sounds like a fantastic character, I would have loved to meet him.”
Following the valuation, the guest said his father enjoyed the more expensive things in life and had a penchant for flashy cars and nice watches.
The guest explained: “It was good to understand a little more about it and what it’s worth but it’s very much a sentimental thing for me so it will stay in the family.”
To date, the most expensive watch to be auctioned off was Paul Newman’s ‘Exotic’ Rolex Daytona 6329, which hammered for $17.8m at a New York gallery in 2017.
Antiques Roadshow episodes are available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
Published at Tue, 15 Mar 2022 11:36:00 +0000
Antiques Roadshow guest refuses to sell father’s gold Rolex watch ‘Stay in the family’
