West Fargo Man’s Watch Is Worth A Shocking Amount
If you watched the television series "Antiques Roadshow" this past Monday, you might have noticed a feature on a West Fargo, North Dakota man and his Rolex. The man, identified only as David, was unaware of just how valuable his watch was. In fact, the shock from learning how much the watch was worth, literally caused him to fall over.
David's Rolex, which he bought for a few hundred dollars in the mid-'70s, was appraised at six figures. He paid about $345, which was almost an entire month's pay at the time. Today, it is worth between $500,000 to $700,000. This watch was dubbed the show's "biggest find" of the season.
David bought the 1971 Rolex Oyster Cosmograph in Thailand while he was stationed there in the Air Force. He desired this particular watch after he saw pilots wore that model. He also heard that the watches were good to take scuba diving. With that, David bought one.
When he returned home from Thailand, David kept the watch locked away in a safe deposit box. He says that the watch stayed in the box for "30 to 40 years," except for the couple of times he would open the safe to check on it. The Rolex sat for decades with all of its original packaging and documentation.
The appraiser on the show, Peter Planes, was happy to get to hold "one of the greatest watches ever seen on "Antiques Roadshow." He told David that the Rolex was "one of the rarest Paul Newman models" and that it was probably the best models in the world. And the fact that the watch was never worn and had the original paperwork made it that much more valuable.
Check out the NBC News story on David here:
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