Like many enthusiasts, I love when there is a good story behind a watch. For this article, I wanted to explore some watch related discoveries on the Antiques Roadshow – when somebody brings something to the Antiques Roadshow for appraisal, it often has a wonderful story to tell, and there is occasionally a lovely surprise waiting for a lucky and unsuspecting person!
Antiques Roadshow watches
I spent some time searching online for some of the more interesting Antiques Roadshow watch discoveries and have pulled them together for your enjoyment. To start with, let’s take a look at the appraisal of a watch collection belonging to a lady’s father, featuring pieces from Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet and Rolex amongst others.
In total, this collection was then appraised to be between $46-57k – not bad!
Another video I found is about a 1963 Rolex GMT Master, reference 1675. Check this video to hear its story, and trust me, it’s one which really will take some beating as to what it has been through!
Next up, let’s take a look at this Patek Philippe pocket watch from the 1920s, owned by the lady’s grandfather. I would posit that this would be appraised significantly north of this if were to be appraised today!
This next video is another pocket watch from 1904 by London based Smith & Son, with an 18ct gold case and enamel porcelain dial. This also features a rather interesting pronunciation of “tourbillon” and is appraised at a rather welcome and unexpected $40-50k!
This UK based owner who wanted a Rolex Submariner like James Bond. Except, this wasn’t just a Rolex Submariner, this was a 1977 Rolex Submariner Tritium. This appraisal was from 2014, so just imagine what this would be worth today!
If you hadn’t already noticed, I have tried to work up to the bigger discoveries, and these last two are nothing short of incredible. Firstly, this relatively recent video took the internet by storm when a retired US Veteran presented his unworn Rolex Cosmograph, reference 6263. This was appraised at an astonishing $500-700k, and it is worth watching to see the Veteran’s reaction alone at around 4 minutes 50 seconds!
And now, the grand finale – a 1914 Patek Philippe pocket watch. I’m not revealing any spoilers for this one but suffice it to say if you watch just one of these videos, it should be this one, and make sure you watch it to the very end.
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- The Watch Boutique Experience
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- My Childhood Watch Collection Rediscovered
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