I have a chance for not 1, but 2 Explorer 1016's from 1968

Buck2466

I want to preface this by saying that I have never been into collecting Rolex. But, a good friend of mine and I recently were talking about watches and he mentioned to me that he had not one, but two Explorers from around 1970. I immediately told him they are worth a chunk of change. He replied "Yeah, i checked several years ago, and was told they were worth a few thousand dollars. I told him that was several years ago and he might be shocked at what they are worth today. In the morning, I asked him to text me some pictures of them. In the mean time, i did a little research while i awaited the pictures. When the pictures showed up, sure enough there were two of them. One was just the watch and the other was the other watch with papers but no box. I immediately called him and began asking questions, like why did he have 2 of them. He explained to me that he bought his (the one without papers) when he was in Hong Kong during Viet Nam. The one with papers was bought by his best friend 6 months later. When his best friend passed away he gifted the watch to my friend. I asked if they were still original and he said they were. I told him through some research the night before that his watches were worth a lot more than what he told me the night before. This got his attention.

Fast forward to today. He calls me and says he got a hold of a very reputable dealer and sent them the watches to look at and they emailed him an offer, which he wanted to forward to me for my thoughts. My first reaction was don't do it, because they're going to immediately turn around and offer them for sale for double their offer. Even after i told him that, he told me he was probably going to take their offer because it was a lot more than he expected. I then told him, if that's the case, would he sell them to me for what they offered? He agreed and told me he would and that he would rather they go to me. Before today, i never thought about owning an Explorer, let alone two, but through some research, i see these are becoming very sought after and a grail for many a collector. So, it looks like i will be diving head first into Vintage Rolex! Please share your expert thoughts and Thank you in advance!

I will post better pictures when the watches come back.

Here are the 2 watches.

airansun

DO NOT SPLIT THEM UP!

(Except to me.)

U ulackfocus

So you're giving one to your favorite ΩF squirrel for his upcoming birthday, right?

U ulackfocus

Forget it man, I'm in line before you!

@Buck2466 - you absolutely MUST do a double-dog one on the right / one on the left wrist twin Explorer shot.

Buck2466

Here are some pictures of all the extras that came with the 1016's. My friend's came with a service receipt from Rolex from 2009. Thank God he refused their suggestion of a new dial and hands. It states it on the receipt. As far as his friend's 1016, it has all the original paperwork as well as a customs declaration when he brought the watch back with him from Vietnam. Also, there is an appraisal from 1993.

Uniqez

Wow, what a find! Congratulations mate.
P.S. The value back in 1972 is $188.72........ Did they come up with the time travel machine yet????