GUEST: So I brought today a watch that was given to my father by the president of the, of the University of Alaska System in 1972. I brought it in to a local jeweler who was a Rolex authorized person, and they immediately said, "No, we can't work on this. (laughs) We're sending this to the East Coast." And they didn't want to work on it because of its age, and he, and I can't remember the words he used, but how special it was. He sent it off for me to the Rolex place on the East Coast. While it was there, he contacted me and said, "They want to know if you want a new band." And, um, I think that was the only thing that I said no to. They serviced it, got it all working really well, and I just didn't want to have some new band that hadn't been my dad's band. That he hadn't worn and earned every scratch on there. (chuckling)
APPRAISER: It's a Reference 6263. I looked up the serial numbers. The watch was manufactured in 1969. This is a, a two-button, three-register chronograph. You've got the Oyster bracelet, the riveted Oyster bracelet, which is a lightweight, before they started doing the heavy, solid links. This particular model is a manual wind. The watch is all stainless steel. It's got a water-resistant Oyster, uh, back on it. We have the water-resistant screw-down pushers, or the buttons. You've got the outer black tachometer, uh, bezel for tachometer reading, which would have been necessary for your dad while he was flying and doing aerial survey and such. New, this watch in 1972, would have been $325, $350. Right around there.
GUEST: Yeah.
That's a lot of money. Yeah. When people send these watches in for servicing, they're told, "Well, why don't we sell you a new bracelet?" And, even more so, we see that they want to change the face, because maybe the face was a little scuffy. Maybe some moisture got in there, and it might have discolored. The service dials are not always the same as the original dial that was on the watch. This one here is called a Reverse Panda dial.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: What you did is keep it all 100% original, and by doing that, you increased the value.
GUEST: Oh.
APPRAISER: If they had changed the dial on that watch, that would have made a huge difference. In today's market, this watch, retail, right now, will bring $85,000 to $95,000.
GUEST: Okay. If they had changed that dial, this watch would be worth about $40,000 to $50,000 less.
GUEST: (chuckling): That's amazing.
