GUEST: I brought in a Rolex
watch that I had purchased while
I was in the military. I was

stationed in Thailand from 1973
to 1975. And while I was there,
I flew on Air America Airlines

and Continental Airlines, and I
noticed that most of the pilots
that were flying those

aircraft wore Rolex watches, and
I was intrigued by them. I
always wanted to purchase them,

but they were very expensive.
Later, when I was transferred to
another base, I did some

scuba diving, and I knew that
the Rolex watch was good for
scuba diving. I found this
particular

watch where I could afford it,
and I never used it. I looked at
it and I said, "You know,

this is really too nice to
take down in salty water."

APPRAISER: Yeah.

GUEST: I just kept it. After I
got out of the service, I had
other watches I wore and

I just put this one into a
safety deposit box. It stayed
there for 30 or 40 years. I

only took it out, like, two or
three times to look at it, and
that was about the extent

of it before I brought it here.

APPRAISER: What branch
of service were you in?

GUEST: I was in the United
States Air Force. I entered in
1971. My draft number was seven.

APPRAISER: That's a
pretty low number, huh?

GUEST: (chuckles) That's not
really lucky in the, in the
draft, right?

APPRAISER: No.

GUEST: When I found out about
that, I either had to join the
Air Force or another branch,

or I was enlisted by
the first of January.

APPRAISER: And what'd
you do in the service?

GUEST: I worked in munitions,
but there's, like, four
different branches, and I worked

in explosive ordnance disposal.
To put it simply, I helped clear

roads of land mines. Munitions
storage areas that had been
blown up or sabotaged, we
cleaned

those up. There were... multiple
children and adults that were
injured as a result of

unexploded ordnance. And it's,
the hazard still is there today.

APPRAISER: You bought this
where? Was it, was it at a
military store?

GUEST: I ordered it in November
1974 through the base exchange.
I believe it came in in

April 1975.

APPRAISER: The amount that you
paid, you even got a ten percent
discount. It says $345.97.

Was that a lot of
money in 1975 to you?

GUEST: It was a lot
of money for myself.

APPRAISER: What were
salaries back then?

GUEST: It ranged between $300
and $400 a month, if I have it
correct.

APPRAISER: As you know, it's a
Rolex. This particular model is
referred to as an Oyster

Cosmograph. They're also
referred to as Daytonas. This is
a

reference 6263. You saved
everything, which is really
wonderful. The warranty paper
was

never filled out and was never
numbered, so you have, actually
have a blank guarantee,

which is quite unusual. And even
over here, this paper is blank.
A blank paper today is

probably worth about $2,000,
because it can be made to match
any watch and add value to

it. You have the original Rolex
brochure here for the
Cosmograph. You have two
receipts,

the order receipt and your
payment receipt. You have the
original box. Even the outer

box here. These watches, as
we've talked on "ANTIQUES
ROADSHOW," have become very
collectible

and valuable. It's got a couple
of very special features about
it. Underneath the word "Rolex"

and above the word "Cosmograph,"
it says "Oyster," and that
refers to these screw-down
buttons

here. They made this version
with and without screw-down
buttons. The ones without the
screw-down

buttons are still
water-resistant, but this was a
much better water-resistant
case, because

you could lock down the
chronograph buttons on it. It
still has the foil sticker on
the

back with the reference number
of the watch, 6263. Had it be
worn, that would be the first

thing that would wear off the
watch. The date mark on the
bracelet shows that it was made

in the first quarter of 1971,
and you ordered it a couple of
years later. Collectors love

this watch because Paul Newman
wore it in a movie called
"Winning." It wasn't this
particular

model, it did not have the
screw-down buttons. The one that
Paul Newman wore, currently at

auction, those watches are going
for approximately $150,000 to
$200,000. Your watch is more
special.

It says...

GUEST: You got to be kidding me.

APPRAISER: It says "Oyster" on
it. Yes. They did that for an
extremely short period of

time. We refer to that as a Mark
II dial. And this particular
model, being marked "Oyster,"

is extremely, extremely rare. A
watch like this at auction is
worth about $400,000.

GUEST: (people laughing
in background)

APPRAISER: You okay?

GUEST: (people
laughing) (chuckles)

APPRAISER: Don't fall. I'm not
done yet. I said, "A watch like
yours." Because of the

condition of it-- basically,
it's a new old stock watch: no
wear on it; the original foil

sticker on the back of it; and
the fact that we have all this
complete documentation here,

also-- your watch, at auction,
today, $500,000 to $700,000.

GUEST: You got to be
(muted) me. (laughing)

APPRAISER: No, I'm very serious.

GUEST: (chuckles and murmurs)

APPRAISER: It's an absolute
fabulous find. It's one of the
rarest Paul Newman models,

and in this condition, I don't
think there's a better one in
the world. I can't thank you

enough for bringing me one of
the greatest watches to ever see
on "ANTIQUES ROADSHOW."

And thank you very
much for your service.

GUEST: Unbelievable.

APPRAISER: You can't
wear it, though.

GUEST: (murmurs) If you wear it,
it drops down to the $400,000
value.