You may have seen in the news that a rare 1970s Rolex has been sold at auction for £155,000. Vintage Rolex watches are a big deal.
This particular one was a government issued watch; Rolex 5513/5517 Military Submariner, and was one of just 1,200 watches made for and issued by the Ministry of Defence between 1971 and 1979. It is estimated that only 120-180 of theses still exist, so it is easy to see why it caused such stir when this one appeared.
Unbelievably it had been sat in a drawer since 1996!
Starting bid was £60,000 with the watch selling in two minutes at Bonhams for well over its estimate.
So what makes a Rolex ‘extra’ valuable? How do you know if your Rolex is sort after by collectors? What are you looking for if you are starting to search for a vintage Rolex for yourself?
Collectors remain keen on seeking out that ‘special’ watch, they pay little attention to the ups and downs of current market value and go to great lengths to find the unique and the rare.
Its also very much a ‘thing’ for collectors to find the Rolex from year of their birth, bearing in mind most rolex collectors need to be of a certain age to afford to BE Rolex collectors, then you can roughly work out which years are more sort after than others…
Vintage, limited edition, special issue, - its a big deal.
Vintage, generally this means a watch from at least thirty years ago. Watches from between 1930- 1970 are making record breaking prices right now. The particular steel Daytona from this time is highly sort after - nicknamed the ‘Paul Newman’ having been connected to the famed actor.
Unlike modern watches, vintage watches do not need to be free of wear and tear. Obviously things like missing hands, water damage, missing nail markers have a negative impact on the value, but collectors like characteristics of general wear.
The so called ‘tropical dial’ is highly collectable, -once considered a serious flaw the sun fading around the dial is now a plus. The sun faded brown or orange dials are all individual and distinct as no modern watch will sun fade, it shows a watch made before 1980.
Original parts - the value increases if the vintage watch has its original bezel, dial or movement; don’t overhaul it with new updated parts!
Manufacture defects - errors like misprint on your dial are very very rare, especially for a brand such as Rolex, so that makes such watches a big deal for collectors too.
Box and papers - we dont have to tell you this ; as always having these with a watch, modern or vintage, can add a lot of value.
Other details - buttons and complications they dont make any more, colours they released only briefly, special editions only for particular companies, Anniversary editions, limited release. All these have the possibility to add great value to an already valuable luxury timepiece.
What if you dont have the budget to collect vintage Rolex? Our advice to you is begin now with a modern Rolex. The Rolex you purchase today will last at least two lifetimes, will grow in value and accompany you on many an adventure, before becoming a vintage of its own.
You can click here to find all IN STOCK Rolex here at Watch Buyers.