A man who bought a watch from his friend more than 60 years ago has learned the staggering value of the accessory on Antiques Roadshow.
The guest explained on Sunday’s episode (March 14) that he paid only £4 to buy the Omega watch from his friend in 1959 while he was serving in the RAF.
“He took it off his wrist and it’s been on mine forever since,” he added.
Alastair looked at the Omega Ranchero watch and explained that it was the fourth addition to Omega’s three main tool watches – the Seamaster 300, the Speedmaster and the Railmaster.
The Omega Ranchero watch bears similar design as its three other tool watches (Image: BBC)
The Ranchero was made in 1958 but was designed as a slightly “entry-level watch”, slightly cheaper than its three counterparts.
But the Swiss-made wristwatch still shared similarities with their designs, thanks to its black dial and bold watch hands.
He told the guest: “The only problem Omega found was with the name, because Ranchero translates roughly to ‘rancher’ or ‘ranch hand’, which didn’t seem to sit very well with their potential buyer.
“So in 1959, they stopped production and sold off the rest of them.
The guest said his friend sold it to him for £4 in 1959 (Image: BBC)
“So moving on now, it’s become one of those watches that collectors are very interested in buying. Now you said you paid £4 for it.”
The guest nodded and said: “Yes I did.”
“So if this came up into auction now, someone I think would be happy to pay around £3,000 for this watch in this condition.”
The guest raised his eyebrows and added: “Really? Good £4 worth. Thank you very much.”
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In the previous episode, an expert gave a whopping valuation to a golf machine made in the 1930s.
Gordon Foster described it as an “early computer” for keen golfers to play games and estimated it was worth up to £10,000.
And a man who bought a Buddha statue for £30 from a car boot sale was told it could fetch up to £6,000 in an auction.
The expert believed it was a genuine bronze statue made in the 18th century.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
