Jump to content

1971 Rolex on Antiques Roadshow


Recommended Posts

I don't find that so strange. In the past Rolex had prices aligned with other makers, $345 in 1974 are about $1,780 of today, which is like 10 times more what a normal person would pay for a watch or smartphone, and would buy you a nice Swiss chronograph. As a young man he took an uncommon decision of spending a month salary or more for it,  having done the same at about the same age I understand that perfectly. 

Then the watch has been valued so high first  because of the general crazyness about the  brand, and then because drooling collectors have decided that just because few dials have been printed like that, they must have higher intrinsic value.

I am happy for the owner and I whish him the best health and wealth, but I am afraid that if he decides to sell it he could find that reality of doing that is a quite different from the parking lot show put together for television. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, oldhippy said:

Seriously though, who the heck sits on a Rolex watch for nearly 50 years and never wears it.

Someone with plenty of money.:D

Certainly not the case here and it turned to be a very wise decision. Even by the rich collectors of today its commonly done, they call them drawers queens. 

Edited by jdm
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
On ‎1‎/‎31‎/‎2020 at 1:42 AM, jdm said:

Certainly not the case here and it turned to be a very wise decision. Even by the rich collectors of today its commonly done, they call them drawers queens. 

I always found that part of watch collecting a bit depressing.  In the collector's eye the best watch is the unloved one- bought and never worn.  (sigh)

I had to tune in for the episode though.  Gorgeous watch (although I like the model 6239 better).  It wouldn't surprise me if it goes for over a million USD at auction.  It was a very sound investment.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

People are doubting the authenticity of the watch, specifically whether it is truly "unworn". You can purchase blank genuine documents online all day long and the case back sticker does indeed show signs of wear and the dial shows what appears to be dust particles on close inspection which means it may have also been serviced. Time will tell I suppose.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Topics

  • Posts

    • nevenbekriev- You nailed it with your description of me and my reaction when the clock started ticking again. I am a newbie.  I love the sound and idea of mechanical clocks but the idea of owning one and trying to keep them running has never appealed to me. My wife bought this one and an antique German wall clock.  When I looked into having someone repair them for me, the universal response was "it's really expensive to work on them, you should just replace the movement". So, I had nothing to lose, I started researching them and opened them up. The wife is happy because she hears the sound of the clocks again. But I have gone down the "accuracy" rabbit hole. In the vertical position, the balance wheel was not floating. It was sitting on the bottom of the frame. I adjusted the lower spring collet and got it floating. It easily passed the 270 degree 3 to 5 minute oscillation test. It took 8 minutes for the wheel to completely stop moving.  I put it the unit back in the movement and checked the safety pin. It does not touch the safety roller anywhere in +/-270 degrees rotation from neutral position. But the amplitude of the rotation with the spring fully wound is weak based on what you are saying. It rotates +/-90 degrees from the neutral position.  No, I did not take the movement completely apart.  That seemed way outside my skill set at the time. There is a reason I became an electrical engineer and not a mechanical engineer. I am much more comfortable with moving electrons than tiny moving metal parts. Will I do it in the long run? Anything can happen. I don't seem to be able to let it go.
    • Isn't that the same guy who told Zelenskyy to escalate the war with Russia/Putin when they already had a peace deal? 2 years later and we have half a million young Ukranian boys dead. He doesn't seem very clever...
    • Thanks guys.  quick question. For automatic movement, particularly this one. can I power down the main spring by pushing this rachet down?  i've gotten pretty used to SW210 and powering down a manual movement. But so far i've only been waiting for the auto movement to run out of juice before opening the case.     
    • @Murks the problem you have mate is most watch cases out there to buy are for Seiko NH3X, ETA 2824 and maybe Myota 8XXX movements, oh also the big ETA 6978/9 movements which the dials start around 28.5mm. You might find one on a Google search but I suspect your main chance will be buying cheap quartz ladies watches and hopefully find one of the right size and condition that is acceptable. 😞   Tom
    • The anchor pin should be perpendicular when the anchor is sat on a flat surface and if you post a close up picture of the backplate I will be able to tell you the correct torsion spring , running fast or slow is usually wrong Torsion spring. Here is a video from my YouTube channel showing how I set the beat  
×
×
  • Create New...