Man brought to tears after learning true value of his £132 Rolex

A guest on BBC’s Antiques Roadshow has been left speechless after being told the value of his Rolex.

The watch in question was a rare iteration of the Rolex Submariner and was passed down from his father, who bought it for just £132 ($170).

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“He bought it for himself in 1972 when I was seven and me, my mum, my dad and my brother went to Birmingham to buy it,” he said.

“My dad passed away and he gave it to me a couple of months before he passed away. It means absolutely everything to me. It’s part of my dad. It’s a very, very special watch that is and will be forever,” he added.

The Rolex owner said his father never modified the watch except for the bracelet, which was replaced a couple of times over the years.

After having the watch examined and appraised, BBC’s watch expert Richard Price was ready to give the Rolex’s owner the good news.

Price told him it was a genuine vintage Rolex Submariner.

He also said that watch collectors – particularly Rolex collectors – were “pedantic” and always looking for the X factor when it came to rare iterations of the Submariner.

“Within a 10-year period, this watch was made with six different types of dial,” Price said. “And it has the word ‘Submariner’ written in red, which is why collectors call it the Red Submariner”.

Then Price delivered the verdict.

“I hope you guys are going to be really, really pleased with this. It’s going to be around the £20,000 mark,” Price said.

For reference, £20,000 is equivalent to $25,000.

Not bad for a watch that only cost £132.

“It’s something you’ve obviously loved and you’re going to keep forever,” Price said.

“It was your dad’s and I think that’s a lovely, lovely story.”