Posted on 01/30/2020 6:27:16 AM PST by Red Badger
"You OK?" the appraiser said as the man went down to the ground, heels over head. "Don't fall. I'm not done."
An Air Force veteran fell backward to the ground in disbelief after learning a watch he purchased for $345.97 nearly a half-century ago could go for several hundred thousand dollars.
The man, featured this week in PBS's popular show “Antiques Roadshow,” showed his virtually unworn 1971 Rolex Oyster Cosmograph to appraiser Peter Planes.
The veteran, who has not been identified, explained he was stationed in southeast Asia in the 1970s when he became fascinated by Rolex watches after seeing airline pilots of the era commonly wear them.
He said he enjoyed scuba diving at the time and believed this Rolex model would stand up well to water. He ordered it in November 1974 through the military base exchange and received it in April 1975.
"I found this particular watch where I could afford it, and I never used it. I looked at it and I said, `You know, this is really too nice to take down in salty water,' " he said. "I just kept it."
Not only did he keep the watch in a safe deposit box, the vet also held on to all purchase and maintenance documents, adding to its value, according to Planes.
When Planes told him the watch could be worth $400,000 at auction, the man collapsed in disbelief during the taping in Fargo, North Dakota.
"You OK?" Planes said calmly as the man went down heels over head. "Don't fall. I'm not done."
The man got up, grinning ear to ear, to get even more incredible news.
"Because of the condition of it, basically, it's a new old stock watch, no wear on it," Planes said. "We have all this complete documentation here, also, maybe one of the very few in the whole world that still was never worn, your watch, at auction, today, $500,000 to $700,000."
The amazed man said: "You got to be (expletive) me."
This model of Rolex is particularly beloved by collectors because Paul Newman wore it in his 1969 movie "Winning," according to Planes.
I wonder how long it took the Veteran to save up the money. Also, don’t you get a discount through the PX?
I’ve got at Timex that old. Use it daily. Works great.
I saw this Monday night. The end of the NBC video is FAKE. It shows him falling at the $500,000 to $700,000 estimate. That’s not what happened. As the article itself says, he fell at the first $400,000 figure.
“I wonder how long it took the Veteran to save up the money. Also, don’t you get a discount through the PX?”
He got a 10% discount on the watch. I think they said the cost for the watch was equivalent to a month’s pay.
Thanks.
I guess he was a bachelor at the time. Lol.
Old hippie guy kept the Rolex he bought in a safety deposit box, didn’t wear it.
Wow. Talk about appreciation.
It was $350 when he bought it in 1974 or so, maybe a month and a half pay for his Air Force job.
I don’t think he literally fainted or collapsed.
It’s NBC I’m surprised he didn’t go on fire and explode.
There are plenty of other mechanical watch makers that aren’t as in demand as Rolex where you can get similar quality for a lot less price. The downside is those watches may or may not turn out to be as collectible as a Rolex in a few decades. The Rolexes are a pretty sure investment though.
I remember K-Mart selling Breitlings < $100 in the 70s.
Wish I had treated mine better...
Any $10 quartz watch will keep better time than all but the most expensive mechanical watches. A well-regulated mechanical watch of sufficient quality and balance will do OK on the short term (about a month), but will pretty much always lose out in the long term. OTOH, some modern non-mechanical watches are essentially computers on your wrist. Those will not do as well in the long term as a good mechanical can.
So, for the cheapest Rolex today being 17k or something like that, just doesn’t add up.. so its purely charging buyers money simply for its name, not for its product or quality. Purely a status symbol
Yes and no. You can get into the low end of Rolexes for less than $17k. I think the floor is about $8k these days. You are paying a premium for it having that 'Rolex' on the dial, but there are actually legitimate reasons for some of that. The main thing, is that the brand's worldwide penetration in its marketing, and the perception of the quality of the brand means that if one is traveling overseas and is wearing a Rolex, or has one in his possession, he will pretty much have the means to return home if things go severely sideways with him, because a Rolex is essentially as good as cash just about anywhere on the planet.
There are better watches. Among folk who are really into watches, Rolex is considered the 'low end' of the luxury watch market for most of their product line (exceptions exist of course). For myself, I actually prefer certain Omega designs for design, accuracy, and functionality. I'd kill for a nice Patek Phillipe perpetual, but since those would typically be a larger investment than my house, I'm unlikely to ever have the opportunity to own one.
In brief, a Rolex is expensive, and you're paying a mark-up for the brand, but they are recognized globally for their value, and maintain that value better than most other watches.
“Purely a status symbol”
You are correct, but I am certainly glad that there are overpaid dummies out there who will buy a watch just for “Status”.
Without them, there would be no Rolex, at all. I trust your figure of the current value of the 1971 dollar figure and point out that Rolex would not exist selling watches at this price. When this fellow bought his watch, almost all were mechanical and there was great competition. Some were even made in the US.
So, Rolex has devolved into a very small “Status” product, but it still exists in an age of cheap, Chinese-made junk which Americans would prefer to buy. It would be hard to find a watch of its quality at any price.
As this chap found out, it usually holds its value, and then some, so there are worse things to put your money in.
Let me also say that Rolex, compared to other expensive “Status” watches, was always trying to be a useful, functional watch. This guy’s was a chronograph, and those were still being used by pilots and auto racers as personal precision timing instruments. The Submariner is not bothered by water in the least, and Rolex had another version that deep-sea oil drillers were using at incredible depths.
Today, its all about the “Bling”, of course, but I am glad that the watch is still there for the quality that is in it.
Sorry I wrote so much, but I have enjoyed Rolex for several decades and never for its status. I find that there are few occasions where I even want it seen.
To each his own.
I bought a Rolex two tone Submariner Date in 1989. I’ve worn it every day since then; Diving, surfing, sailing, trail running, hunting, riding motorcycles - everything. I’m wearing it now. It keeps time well enough for navigation and I have used it for that purpose sailing between the US Mainland and Hawaii More than once. It is without question the most rugged and reliable piece of equipment I have ever owned.
As an investment, not the greatest. On the used market, mine is worth about twice what I originally paid for it 30 years ago (The wear and tear is evident on the case and bracelet if you look close). BTW, new stainless steel Rolex Oysters start at $7050 manufacturers suggested retail and they can be found for considerably less if you look around. Not “17K or so on the low end”.
Same here with my 10-year-old no-name Walmart $13 watch ("Japan MOVT"??). Other than an occasional new battery and the DST changes, time has never been off by more than a minute. Better than some of the cheap LCD watches.
If that image isn’t a gif-generator, I don’t know what is!
Again..
$350 in 1971 is 2220 in 2020 dollars.
Even with a floor of 8k, you are still 4 times the 1971 value... so you are being charged a premium for nothing more than than the name.
You may argue that name is worth something... of course if you are wearing a rolex anywhere in the world, its cash value can make you a target as well... So your argument is dubious at best.
at an entry point 4 times its cost of living adjustment from 1971 is not because its more expensive to make, or even that the quality has grossly improved in the last 4 decades. When the cost is outside the inflation curve, and you have no major advance you are paying for the brand name, not the quality, not the product, just the status symbol>
Average cost of a car in 1971 $3,742 which is 23,700 in todays dollars... Average cost in 2019 is 36,700. That’s across ALL MAKES AND MODELS, so you won’t get a 1 to 1, and no one would argue that the technology etc that is in a car today is a hell of a lot more today than in 1971.. but a Rolex, hasn’t added a major new feature in that time... It should be showing a downward price curve, since manufacturing improvements over that time..
People are free to wear whatever watch they want, I don’t personally care, but the price is simply status symbol, not quality. Quality hasn’t improved 4 times for a Rolex made today vs 1971.
I am glad you like your watch, you are free to wear whatever watch you like, but as I simply pointed out, $350 in 1971 is $2220 in 2020... Even at a 7000 price tag, you have a price expansion close to 4 times the cost of inflation... would you argue the technology, quality or other things in a rolex are nearly 4 times greater today than they were in 1971? If the answer is no, then you are conceding you are paying a huge premium for the brand name not the quality.
Just a quick glance finds that in 2014 rolex sold about 800k watches.
$2220 per watch would mean revenues of almost $1.8 BILLION. This is of course assuming every watch were $2200 which would not be the case.
I’d REALLY like to see what numbers you are basing your analysis on if you believe that they could not remain in business if they didn’t have an entry point of 7k or 8k per watch at the low end.
800,000 a year is not a “NICHE”. To put that in perspective, FORD only sold around 607,000 cars in the US last year.
Rolex isn’t some small artisan manufacturing business with a handful of old men putting parts together and producing only a few handfuls per year. No its not nearly as many as other watch manufacturers, but its not by any stretch a small production run company either.
I don’t care if Rolex charges 100k for its watches, if folks are willing to pay for it, that’s fine, but there is no argument that one can make honestly by the numbers, that the price of a Rolex is driven by status desire, not quality/value.
I thank you for the numbers, and I’m sure yours are correct.
I think you missed, however, where I said you were CORRECT, and Rolex sells to dummies who think they can buy “Status”.
If there was a business selling your idea of a super high quality watch at discount prices, I am sure that someone would be in it, if not Rolex. Maybe 800,000 units a year world-wide is all they want to sell. I believe that they really are all hand-assembled by blind, if not old, men. Rolex picks the mixture of “Bling” they want, and I know that they are sticklers about controlling the price their watches sell for. There are no “discounts” allowed on Rolex watches. To me, this indicates that they are happy with this niche of expensive products and not looking to expand production.
When I got my first Rolex it was in the 7k range and had some gold in it. I could not find anything of its quality for less. I have Seiko watches that I wear when using a chainsaw, and they only cost about $100. The plating comes off, the bands stretch and the crystal scratches. I wouldn’t want to get them wet. The Rolex is going to outlive me. What is plated is too thick to wear through. The band stretch is only slight, and the crystal would need a nuclear blast to scratch. I wear it all the time, even doing some work where I shouldn’t.
I am glad Rolex is around to provide a quality that it appears there is no market for except in this “Status” realm. I could wish the price were lower, but then I might as well wish that there was an interest in Quality from the American consumer. There isn’t. So Rolex has retreated from the price range you calculated in 1971, and no one has filled the void with the product you are imagining.
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