One Antiques Roadshow guest got the shock of his life when he took his old watch for valuation.
It’s not uncommon for jewellery to fetch staggering sums on the BBC programme, whether it’s an old ring passed down through generations or a brooch with sentimental value.
But for a man appearing on the Fiona Bruce-fronted show this Sunday night (July 28), it was an item from his personal collection that he wanted inspecting.
And no one was prepared for the five-figure amount it was to be branded with.
Presenting an Omega Speedmaster Professional, the gentleman was informed by expert Richard Price that the accessory has a rich history.
‘We tend to call it the Moonwatch for the simple reason that the two boys, Armstrong and Aldrin, wore it on the Moon in July 1969. First watch on the Moon,’ he explained.
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As for this guest’s own watch, it originated in 1968, dubbed ‘pre-Moon’ by experts.
On its backstory, he shared: ‘I was in the Merchant Navy for about a year and a half. I was just coming up to my 21st birthday and my parents said, “What would you like for your 21st birthday?” And I said, “A really nice watch.”
‘The chap I was talking to in the ship’s shop, he said, “If you want an Omega, when we get to Hong Kong, I’ll be able to take you to the wholesaler”.’
‘This is great. When you said Hong Kong, from the Far East…’, expert Price chimed in, his eyes instantly lighting up as he learnt where the watch came from.
The man then pulled out a postcard written to his parents from Capetown, reading: ‘I’ve seen a watch, it might cost about £45.’
It was accompanied by an ‘important receipt’, not only proving the purchase of the watch but that it had always belonged to this gentleman in particular.
While Price noted that it ‘is in slightly scruffy condition’, the owner explained: ‘I used it fairly constantly up until around 1983. I was sailing dinghies quite a lot, so it got a bit of abuse.’
The watch had never been reconditioned, meaning all its parts and features are still as they were in the 1960s.
Pointing out the details, Price shared: ‘Let me tell you, right from the word go, this red second hand is an exceptionally rare thing to find on a Speedmaster and it is the mode that we refer to as the Ultraman.
‘Made in 1968, only for a few months and most of them went out to the Far East.’
It was then that he urged the guest to ‘find another’, as he teased just how much the item could fetch.
‘What were you earning then? A tenner a week?’, he asked, with the gentleman confirming that the £45 purchase price was a monthly salary for him at the time.
Breaking the news everyone was waiting for, Price revealed: ‘I’m not gonna stick my neck out too much, but I’m gonna say, without any hesitation, it’s so rare, £30,000-£40,000.’
What followed were gasps and applause from the crowd, everyone stunned at what they had just heard.
The guest’s eyes went wide, his jaw dropping right away as he struggled to find the words.
‘Ok…’, he said, flabbergasted.
‘I trust that’s more than a month’s salary for you now,’ Price laughed, to which the gentleman confirmed it’s a ‘bit more than [his] pension’.
‘I’m gonna hold it because I will never, I’m sure, in my lifetime hold another one, it’s that rare,’ Price concluded, basking in the moment.
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Antiques Roadshow airs Sundays at 8pm on BBC.
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