VIDEO: 9 classic quotes from that time Antiques Roadshow told a US veteran his Rolex GMT-Master was worth 50 times more than he expected
Andrew McUtchenEditor’s Note: As a GMT-Master II owner I’m a sucker for stories about any Rolex GMT models. It’s a kinship that’s formed when you buy into a brand, and then a model. In Jungian terms, you form a link that is like a telephone line, and every time you see one, it rings. You notice them on others. You seek stories to add to your own personal mythology. But this video about a watch bought by an American soldier after WWII did not just resonate with me. It speaks to all watch lovers, because it goes well beyond a luxury watch as a status symbol, past transient modern and vintage trends to an almost ‘pre-marketing’ place of authenticity. This guy’s Sarge said buy a Rolex, because they’re great, so he did. He spent a month’s pay on it. Then he bought another one for his dad with another month’s pay. But we’ll let the story tell itself, with a little help from our favourite quotes and some images to bring it all back. You’ve probably seen this already, but we guarantee you’ll enjoy watching it again.
“I bought it in Germany in Zweibrücken at a PX when I was in the army over there. I bought the watch just before I came back stateside.”
“My sergeant said that before I came back to the states I should buy a Rolex watch…. He thought it was the best watch ever made. He said make sure you get one before you go home and this is the one that I liked.”
“I’d never heard [of Rolex], or seen one before, I just took his word that it was a great watch, and it is.”
“I don’t wear it very often now, it’s kind of a keepsake now. I wear a cheap watch now and this is my dress watch.”
“[It’s the first GMT model ever made.] I did not know that. [It’s a model 6542. It’s incredible that you’ve saved everything.] I’m just lucky I guess.”
“This watch I paid $120 for. The other watch, which had some gold to the bracelet, I bought for my dad and I paid $104 for that. It was a lot of money. My salary in the army was just under $100 a month.”
“[Do you know what this paper is?] No. [Rolexes were sent to the observatory in Geneva to be certified as chronometers. That is the original chronometer bulletin that if you look on the left hand side of it you can see… plus or minus how many seconds it lost.]”
“I am very pleased to tell you that this watch today at auction is a very very collectible watch. Just the watch on its own merit would be worth between $35-45,000 dollars. But. This watch is worth much more. Because you saved the box and all the paperwork for it. Easily today it’s $65-75,000 in the market. Probably more than a month’s pay in the military.”
“Wow. I had no idea. I’m speechless. If you would have told me $1500 I would have been happy.”