Interesting to see a vintage Speedmaster on The Antiques Roadshow

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If the gentleman (as we are led to believe) is not conversant with the world of vintage watches, he will have a coronary when he is told how much a service/overhaul is going to set him back and put it straight back in his sock drawer.
 
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If the gentleman (as we are led to believe) is not conversant with the world of vintage watches, he will have a coronary when he is told how much a service/overhaul is going to set him back and put it straight back in an auction house.

FIFY
 
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FIFY

Hmmm, not sure? Watch the footage (see link above). It has too much sentimental value to him, as you see by the memorabilia he has kept with it.
1) Bought for him by his parents as a birthday gift
2) Reminder of his national service and time abroad

I was being sarcastic, sorry. Does bring up another question though. You are suddenly presented with owning something so valuable and perhaps at odds with your normal attitude to value & money, what do you do. I'm just trying to draw parallels with my old man. Not sure what he would do? Not sure what I would do??
 
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Anyone think the estimate of £30-40k is a tad conservative?
One owner with all of the import documents etc
The watch is in pretty good condition (externally at least, if it hasn't been serviced EVER it may be a different story internally)
 
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Its 1968, your 21st birthday and you pick an Omega Speedmaster as a present, its a bit different as it has an orange chrono hand, it costs you £45, you put it on your wrist and wear it, day in, day out.

I worked with a fellow once who wore an original Rolex Milguass, ref 1019, that he picked up when he was coming back from vietnam in the 60s. Fantastic condition...I told him its worth a small fortune, and he shrugged and said it was old and he only paid like $100 for it. He literally didn't understand it was a collectible piece. The reason I mentioned it to him was he said he was struggling to pay for his son's college...I told him the watch alone would pay for it. He scoffed and didn't believe a watch would be worth that much and ignored me.

Meanwhile he continued to lament to others he was trying to come up with the money.......face.palm.

So when it is said above that great watches get lost, thrown away, disregarded, etc...here's an a great example. I'll bet if it stops working, he'll just toss it away.🤨
 
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Thanks to those who posted the link to the video above. Great to see.
Anyone think the estimate of £30-40k is a tad conservative?
One owner with all of the import documents etc
The watch is in pretty good condition (externally at least, if it hasn't been serviced EVER it may be a different story internally)
He made it seem like that was a very conservative estimate, so his floor was probably intentionally leaving room. I would put the floor for it in auction at $40K (USD) and could certainly see it making its way to $50K on a normal day.
 
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The owner also stated that he wore it when he ‘worked on dinghies, so it got some abuse.’

Wonderful story and watch, and all in my home town of Salisbury.

Superb.
 
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Hmmm, not sure? Watch the footage (see link above). It has too much sentimental value to him, as you see by the memorabilia he has kept with it.
1) Bought for him by his parents as a birthday gift
2) Reminder of his national service and time abroad

I was being sarcastic, sorry. Does bring up another question though. You are suddenly presented with owning something so valuable and perhaps at odds with your normal attitude to value & money, what do you do. I'm just trying to draw parallels with my old man. Not sure what he would do? Not sure what I would do??

It’s a bit of a conundrum, I would love to say I’d keep it but honestly I’d probably see how much I could get for it - it could buy a nice watch collection or a very nice, long holiday. He hasn’t worn it since the 1980s so unless it’s in a case on the mantle piece he probably wouldn’t miss it too much. Maybe?
 
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It’s a bit of a conundrum, I would love to say I’d keep it but honestly I’d probably see how much I could get for it - it could buy a nice watch collection or a very nice, long holiday. He hasn’t worn it since the 1980s so unless it’s in a case on the mantle piece he probably wouldn’t miss it too much. Maybe?

Agreed. You would love to keep it & wear it, but there is a world of difference wearing a £5k watch and a £50k one. It's so valuable I would feel too self-conscious wearing it. You could have yourself a nice 4-6 watch collection and still have change.

Here's an idea for him... Sell it and let it treat you to a slap up, no expense spared stay in the Raffles Hotel in Hong Kong. That way the whole thing comes full circle.
 
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So much depends on what he wants in life. 40 k is a lot of money. He might only have 30k left on his mortgage and wanted a classic car to enjoy. Well here is his chance, I recon he is not a watch guy but who knows.
Maybe he will get it restored and pass it on down the family at the right time.
If it was me I would sell as I would not feel happy with that much money ony wrist and then invest it all back in a nice watch collection that I could enjoy every day and insure.
 
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There was another one on last night. I wonder if there’s a link between what the presenters show and what watches are offered to them in their day jobs. Anyway it was mid-seventies and I was pretty surprised by the hefty valuation he put on it (from memory 6-7k GBP).

So I need to edit this right away. Just went looking for a link to the video and found a thread on another forum. Seems it was an 1175 bracelet and he thought that meant it was from 1975 🤦.

Also it apparently had a step dial and DNN so early seventies. Serves me right for watching it picture in picture on an iPad and trusting what he said 🤦🤦
Edited:
 
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There was another one on last night. I wonder if there’s a link between what the presenters show and what watches are offered to them in their day jobs. Anyway it was mid-seventies and I was pretty surprised by the hefty valuation he put on it (from memory 6-7k GBP).

So I need to edit this right away. Just went looking for a link to the video and found a thread on another forum. Seems it was an 1175 bracelet and he thought that meant it was from 1975 🤦.

Also it apparently had a step dial and DNN so early seventies. Serves me right for watching it picture in picture on an iPad and trusting what he said 🤦🤦

I didn't see last nights but I assume it will be on iplayer.

It's nice to see that they're responding to current collecting trends, even if the advice might not be spot on.
 
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... even if the advice might not be spot on.
Yes, he must be wondering why almost all collectible speedy bracelets were made in October 1935, October 1939, and last nights from November 1975.
 
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There was another one on last night. I wonder if there’s a link between what the presenters show and what watches are offered to them in their day jobs. Anyway it was mid-seventies and I was pretty surprised by the hefty valuation he put on it (from memory 6-7k GBP).

So I need to edit this right away. Just went looking for a link to the video and found a thread on another forum. Seems it was an 1175 bracelet and he thought that meant it was from 1975 🤦.

Also it apparently had a step dial and DNN so early seventies. Serves me right for watching it picture in picture on an iPad and trusting what he said 🤦🤦

I did wonder if the expert actually had any idea, or just working from a script. And i think the widower might be a bit disappointed with the cruise she'll be able to buy using the final auction hammer price (nearer £4k i suspect, before auctioneers fees).
 
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My wife rolled her eyes when I corrected the "expert" regarding the bracelet, even got the Moonwatch Only book to prove my point.
Especially as he tried to convince the owner she had got her dates wrong !!

Also nearly a domestic incident when he quoted the price, she asked " Did you pay that much for yours !! " Quickly answered with a " I think he's overpriced that one " ;-)
 
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My wife called me from the other room (I was trying to fix a problem in the heating system in the kitchen; as everyone who's not a professional plumber probably knows, the anxiety that problems can breed means one's focus is hard to shift to another topic quickly).

Squinting at the TV when the guy was going on about it being mid 1970s, I was proclaiming that it looks like a 71 or maybe even a 69.

Wife:
giphy.gif

Anyway, for those who didn't see it... 47 mins in on https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0008ztn/antiques-roadshow-series-42-lytham-hall-1



Lady says it was her late husband's, he bought it in 1970 / 71, shown in her local jewellers window in a glass of water. The expert went on to correct the lady (saying the bracelet was 1975 so must have been a replacement; she said no, it was original, he countered that this model is more mid 1970s than early 1970s 🤦 He estimated at auction it would get £5-6000. She said she was planning to sell it.
 
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Saw an episode the other day that had an Accutron Spaceview - nice condition, valued at around 300 quid “as there were millions made”. Nice to see these watches on the telly
 
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Am I the only one who feels slightly sad about this? Of course absolutely not my business but I’m not sure I would be able to sell a watch that had such sentimental value. My family bought me an omega for my 40th and so just reflecting whether I would put it up for sale if I found out in thirty years time it was worth £40000. That said, I remember from the clip that he hasn’t worn it for ages and so maybe cashing in isn’t so bad. And who knows, he might need the funds for something else.