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‘73 GMT just tossed in a drawer

any4xx
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Visiting a friend and he mentioned his old Timex bracelet broke and was wondering if he should buy a bracelet for it or just start wearing one of his older watches. I ask him what he has and he digs through a drawer. Clacking and crunching ensues as he gathers up six watches. He literally tosses the pile onto the table and this GMT is in the middle of the pile. ACK!!! It was given to him in 1973 and he wore it for years with no thoughts of it being anything but a tool to take a daily beating. And, no; he wouldn’t sell it to me....
 
any4xx
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Funny that he mentioned having broken the crystal about twenty five years ago. He took it to a dealer and asked them if they could replace that old faded bezel when they replaced the crystal. Dealer was kind enough to tell him not to do that.
 
vbrad26
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Can someone help me understand how stuff like this happens? Because I just don't understand.
It is like when people find old Porsche 911's in barns/garages that have just been left there to rot.
FIX IT! USE IT! I'LL TAKE IT OFF YOUR HANDS!
 
watch3s
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vbrad26 vbrad26
Can someone help me understand how stuff like this happens? Because I just don't understand.
It is like when people find old Porsche 911's in barns/garages that have just been left there to rot.
FIX IT! USE IT! I'LL TAKE IT OFF YOUR HANDS!

Probably have to do more with situation and circumstance. Take someone who is not really into watches, and a loved one passes and they inherit a watch. Since they don't care much for watches, they put it away as a keep sake and forget about it. 10 maybe 20 years passes, and they suddenly take an interest in watches and go let's see that watch gramps left behind.

That's why estate sales are so interesting. Bit of a hit or miss though. Sure many, many are aware of the name rolex, even nonwatch people will likely know what a rolex is or connotates
 
gostang9
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Wow. Just goes to show you that not everyone values things the same.

Not so far from the idiom of "One man's trash is another man's treasure..."
 
any4xx
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vbrad26 vbrad26
Can someone help me understand how stuff like this happens? Because I just don't understand.
It is like when people find old Porsche 911's in barns/garages that have just been left there to rot.
FIX IT! USE IT! I'LL TAKE IT OFF YOUR HANDS!
In my friend’s case, he yanked the crown completely out of it one day many years ago. He put it back in and screwed it down, then tossed it into the drawer with his other “beaters.” And there it has sat....
 
ATWG
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Just can't make this stuff up....l@@k at that MFF!
 
any4xx
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gostang9 gostang9
Wow. Just goes to show you that not everyone values things the same.

Not so far from the idiom of "One man's trash is another man's treasure..."

Yeah; I tried not to gasp in horror. Then as dinner time approached he merely scooped up the pile from the table, crunched them all together, and tossed the pile onto a kitchen counter out of the way. I was dying....
 
watch3s
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any4xx any4xx
Yeah; I tried not to gasp in horror. Then as dinner time approached he merely scooped up the pile from the table, crunched them all together, and tossed the pile onto a kitchen counter out of the way. I was dying....

did you tell him what its true value was though?
 
any4xx
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watch3s watch3s
did you tell him what its true value was though?
I’m not really up on values, but I told him if he had it serviced and had the crown problem repaired it’d likely be worth (and I guessed) somewhere in the $6k to $8k range. But he didn’t think it was worth spending probably $1k to have it serviced and repaired. I did tell his wife (in front of him) that when he croaks i’ll buy it from her. ;-)
 
watch3s
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any4xx any4xx
I’m not really up on values, but I told him if he had it serviced and had the crown problem repaired it’d likely be worth (and I guessed) somewhere in the $6k to $8k range. But he didn’t think it was worth spending probably $1k to have it serviced and repaired. I did tell his wife (in front of him) that when he croaks i’ll buy it from her. ;-)

was that all that was wrong with it? I take it, this is a watch he hasnt run in ages.
 
any4xx
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watch3s watch3s
was that all that was wrong with it? I take it, this is a watch he hasnt run in ages.
Yup. Gave it a shake and it started running.
 
vbrad26
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gostang9 gostang9
Wow. Just goes to show you that not everyone values things the same.

Not so far from the idiom of "One man's trash is another man's treasure..."

Yes this is more of what I was getting at.
I do, in fact, understand, however it just blows my mind.
But yes this is the stuff I day dream of. Coming across an old Heuer, Rolex, Omega that has just been forgotten about by a person who just does not care or really haven't a clue of what they actually have.
Maybe one day...
 
Larry S
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Paul Newman “ Do you have a watch kid?” “No” “Here’s one of mine then. “
 
southtexas
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any4xx any4xx
I’m not really up on values, but I told him if he had it serviced and had the crown problem repaired it’d likely be worth (and I guessed) somewhere in the $6k to $8k range. But he didn’t think it was worth spending probably $1k to have it serviced and repaired. I did tell his wife (in front of him) that when he croaks i’ll buy it from her. ;-)

Given today’s GMT market, you can just about double that low side estimate (or more?).
 
any4xx
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onthedial onthedial
@any4xx
Lol! I like how you really low-balled the market value. 😉
Honestly I thought that was pretty close. I literally had no idea. I spoke with him again today and convinced him to contact LAWW to at least figure out his options as far as getting it in good shape or selling it as-is. I’m happy to see him getting some serious $$$ out of it. He thought, literally, that it wasn’t worth much of anything.
 
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