Greeting and salutations Omega Forum folks! Yes indeed, that was me and my watch on Antiques Roadshow this past Monday evening. The details initially discussed during my original post and those reviewed during the appraisal on the show differ due to further investigation on the watch within my family. From a timeline perspective, it made more sense chronologically that my great-grandfather purchased the watch, due to the nature of his work. At the time he was a salesman of the felt sleeves that go over the large drums used in the paper manufacturing process. His territory was the Southeastern United States. He did very well in his industry, which allowed him to take on various hobbies (photography, hunting and antiques collecting) and travel quite extensively .That being said, the two plausible theories of how it came into our family are that he either travelled to Cuba on leisure and purchased it directly from the Cuervo jeweler (co-brand on the dial) or that he purchased it at an antiques shop/flea market in the South during one of his business trips. My mother recalled that he was know for returning from business trips with "trinkets" (e.g. a Tiffany Silverware set, also in my possession now) fairly regularly. Regardless of its initial procurement, at one point it did belong to my grandfather, so the title of my original post is not wholly inaccurate.
I'd like to thank all those who commented in my original post, for providing insight on the watch, advisement on next steps, and the kind words of appreciation that only watch enthusiasts would understand. Appearing on the Antiques Roadshow was a fun and unique experience and hopefully I didn't come off looking and sounding too much like a doof. Several of the appraisers looked at the watch and all agreed that the fixed bars were indeed cut at some point, most likely to remove a worn leather band. What I find interesting is that the appraiser made no mention of the mis-matched hour hand as some have indicated on my original post and this one as well. As I reflect on the filming of the appraisal, we actually shot about ten minutes of content, that was then edited down to roughly 3.5 minutes, so he very well may have mentioned that and it just slipped my mind... Not that I really care too much, but that appraiser, Peter Planes was the same gentleman who appraised a Rolex Daytona for $500-750k on an earlier episode of Antiques Roadshow. Last night, I watched a Youtube video where certain aficionados have contested his appraisal of that watch as being "new old stock," when there were clear indications of wear and use in their opinion. At the end of the day, Mr. Planes knows more about time pieces than me, and has a well-versed collection of peers to confer with. After the filming, we spoke for another 15 minutes, he introduced me to some of his colleagues and we even took a few photos together. All in all, I am just grateful for the opportunity to share the story, enjoy the experience, and to learn more about the watch. Thanks again to you all and for a great forum like this one!
Cheers,
River McK
