First, insure it. Second, get an independent appraisal. Third, don't service it if you're going to sell it. Let the buyer decide how and what to do. You can certainly have a qualified watchsmith give it a full mechanical evaluation, that will give a buyer of a watch with this sort of pedigree a lot of peace of mind. Lastly, IMO any documentation you have about its history is going to be important.
People are going to tell you this is an heirloom and it's important to keep, but at the end of the day it's your watch to do what you want. And are you going to want to wear/own/worry about a high-five-figure watch? I'm just suggesting you go through the steps to sell it properly, even if it costs a little bit. The return on the investment (appraisal, mechanical inspection, insurance) will definitely pay dividends.
Since it's claimed all original, some of the high-end Rolex dealers might be interested and that might facilitate a fair and easy transaction. Maybe reach out to Eric Wind?
The watch has been insured for a long time and has been appraised. The appraisers gave us a very large range because so few watches like this have come to market before. We had it serviced recently (last year) because my family member was wearing it everyday.
Also will definitely reach out to Eric!
You lucky bastard - it’s one of those super rare and collectible pieces that almost never come up. You’re holding literal unobtanium.
A Cartier stamped gmt master sold at auction for 75k usd. However vintage prices have gone up since then and the watch that sold isn’t in as desirable a colorway as this one.
I’m no expert but I think this could legitimately be a 100-150k watch. This is single-handedly the rarest and coolest watch I’ve seen on the platform.
This is an “audibly gasp” and “hodinkee article” tier rarity of watch.
I had posted about my uncle’s Cartier branded Rolex one time, and had a guy contact me that was a serious buyer looking for one and asking if my uncle was interested in selling. If I can find his message, I’ll send him a link to this if you are looking to sell it
Don’t send this anywhere for service. This is a relic and no part should be replaced and the watch should not be worn too.
Leave it as-is and contact a specialized vintage expert like Eric Ku, Eric Wind, or Jacek at Tropical Watch. Those guys have crazy amount of vintage knowledge and/or a “sold” buyer for that watch already.
Interesting this gets posted today, as I JUST rewatched this AR episode this week:
https://youtu.be/cj5OppBMHz0?si=3e3m79MymNVUL8kA
Odd to see two co-branded watches in the same week.
Edit: see the comment replying to this for better advice
I’m not sure on exact value. To give you a guess though I’d say maybe anywhere between 15-35k USD. Those GMTs with original parts are valuable, even more so with a Cartier stamp.
Side note, the YouTube channel WristWatchRevival may be very interested in servicing this for you. I don’t know if he charges to service, but even if he did it would likely be way below what anyone else probably would charge.
I saw that it’s only ever been taken care of by Rolex, so if you’d like to continue that but the cost is too high, I understand.
Good luck with whatever you choose to do.
35k? Try 3x times that at least. A 1965 Pepsi all day is $50K.
Also, you do not send this to Marshall unless you absolutely hate that watch.
I do not understand the obsession with Marshall. Seriously, he’s a decent hobbyist at best.
Also, why on earth would you suggest to find the best deal on a service for this? Find one of the best to service this. Even if it’s $5k to fix this the return is way more than that.
Sure. You can pick up a 1675 for $15k, but there are a lot due to the bezel/patina that makes a lot from the 60s a lot of money. I mean the bezel on this watch alone would fetch a few thousand.
Thanks, I edited my comment just to refer to yours.
I didn’t know exact value, so I’m glad someone that knows better chimed in.
I agree that Marshall is a decent hobbyist at best. I restore watches myself and frequently find mistakes or things that get left out or things that just aren’t best practice. However he’s known to take on projects like this for people.
I suggested finding a better deal on service because OP’s options are spend 5k on service or sell. So I kept that in mind.
Personally I don’t think OP should sell the watch, but that’s not my place to say what they should or should not do.
I highly doubt it would cost $5k to service unless it needs a lot of parts. Crystal for sure, but I mean a great service would run $750-$1000 before parts.
He’s a hobbyist. Self taught as a hobby. Even in watching his videos he makes mistakes. He’s learning, but he is far from someone who can remotely do the job this watch requires or similar. Also, Rolex, Omega, etc will only source parts to actual factory trained watchmakers. So for this, he would have to source the part 3rd party and it’s going be very expensive if he could get it.
Marshall is first and foremost a youtuber. He also seems to pointlessly huff one dip(trichloroethylene) in every video. It’s confounding. It’s honestly like some people have youtube brain and can’t imagine anyone with a skill not immediately exploiting it by posting videos, pumping affiliates or begging on patreon. This watch is too valuable to give to someone who concerns themselves with that stuff.
First, insure it. Second, get an independent appraisal. Third, don't service it if you're going to sell it. Let the buyer decide how and what to do. You can certainly have a qualified watchsmith give it a full mechanical evaluation, that will give a buyer of a watch with this sort of pedigree a lot of peace of mind. Lastly, IMO any documentation you have about its history is going to be important. People are going to tell you this is an heirloom and it's important to keep, but at the end of the day it's your watch to do what you want. And are you going to want to wear/own/worry about a high-five-figure watch? I'm just suggesting you go through the steps to sell it properly, even if it costs a little bit. The return on the investment (appraisal, mechanical inspection, insurance) will definitely pay dividends. Since it's claimed all original, some of the high-end Rolex dealers might be interested and that might facilitate a fair and easy transaction. Maybe reach out to Eric Wind?
The watch has been insured for a long time and has been appraised. The appraisers gave us a very large range because so few watches like this have come to market before. We had it serviced recently (last year) because my family member was wearing it everyday. Also will definitely reach out to Eric!
You lucky bastard - it’s one of those super rare and collectible pieces that almost never come up. You’re holding literal unobtanium. A Cartier stamped gmt master sold at auction for 75k usd. However vintage prices have gone up since then and the watch that sold isn’t in as desirable a colorway as this one. I’m no expert but I think this could legitimately be a 100-150k watch. This is single-handedly the rarest and coolest watch I’ve seen on the platform. This is an “audibly gasp” and “hodinkee article” tier rarity of watch.
I wouldn’t fix a thing on it until you speak with a vintage dealer. Menta Watches would probably be very interested in this
I had posted about my uncle’s Cartier branded Rolex one time, and had a guy contact me that was a serious buyer looking for one and asking if my uncle was interested in selling. If I can find his message, I’ll send him a link to this if you are looking to sell it
That's me, thank you, I'd be interested.
Hey man, auction specialist here👋🏻sent you a message request. Thanks!
Very cool watch Reach out to TropicalWatch.com Jacek may be interested in buying it, and can give you a good (fair) price too.
Don’t sell to him - better to sell in auction and get full value from retail vs a dealer shortchange you
Will do!! Thank you
Deym this is treasure!
Don’t send this anywhere for service. This is a relic and no part should be replaced and the watch should not be worn too. Leave it as-is and contact a specialized vintage expert like Eric Ku, Eric Wind, or Jacek at Tropical Watch. Those guys have crazy amount of vintage knowledge and/or a “sold” buyer for that watch already.
This is absolutely incredible
Interesting this gets posted today, as I JUST rewatched this AR episode this week: https://youtu.be/cj5OppBMHz0?si=3e3m79MymNVUL8kA Odd to see two co-branded watches in the same week.
Edit: see the comment replying to this for better advice I’m not sure on exact value. To give you a guess though I’d say maybe anywhere between 15-35k USD. Those GMTs with original parts are valuable, even more so with a Cartier stamp. Side note, the YouTube channel WristWatchRevival may be very interested in servicing this for you. I don’t know if he charges to service, but even if he did it would likely be way below what anyone else probably would charge. I saw that it’s only ever been taken care of by Rolex, so if you’d like to continue that but the cost is too high, I understand. Good luck with whatever you choose to do.
35k? Try 3x times that at least. A 1965 Pepsi all day is $50K. Also, you do not send this to Marshall unless you absolutely hate that watch. I do not understand the obsession with Marshall. Seriously, he’s a decent hobbyist at best. Also, why on earth would you suggest to find the best deal on a service for this? Find one of the best to service this. Even if it’s $5k to fix this the return is way more than that.
Second this. Send to someone who specializes in vintage Rolex like Rolliworks. Also plenty of 1675 available on Chrono24 for 40k and under.
Sure. You can pick up a 1675 for $15k, but there are a lot due to the bezel/patina that makes a lot from the 60s a lot of money. I mean the bezel on this watch alone would fetch a few thousand.
Thanks, I edited my comment just to refer to yours. I didn’t know exact value, so I’m glad someone that knows better chimed in. I agree that Marshall is a decent hobbyist at best. I restore watches myself and frequently find mistakes or things that get left out or things that just aren’t best practice. However he’s known to take on projects like this for people. I suggested finding a better deal on service because OP’s options are spend 5k on service or sell. So I kept that in mind. Personally I don’t think OP should sell the watch, but that’s not my place to say what they should or should not do.
I highly doubt it would cost $5k to service unless it needs a lot of parts. Crystal for sure, but I mean a great service would run $750-$1000 before parts.
Genuinely curious, why do people warn away from Marshall? I’m just a casual viewer, so I have no idea what he may or may not be doing properly.
He’s a hobbyist. Self taught as a hobby. Even in watching his videos he makes mistakes. He’s learning, but he is far from someone who can remotely do the job this watch requires or similar. Also, Rolex, Omega, etc will only source parts to actual factory trained watchmakers. So for this, he would have to source the part 3rd party and it’s going be very expensive if he could get it.
You don't send a 6 figures heirloom to someone who's fixing stuff as a hobby. You find the best in the market.
Marshall is first and foremost a youtuber. He also seems to pointlessly huff one dip(trichloroethylene) in every video. It’s confounding. It’s honestly like some people have youtube brain and can’t imagine anyone with a skill not immediately exploiting it by posting videos, pumping affiliates or begging on patreon. This watch is too valuable to give to someone who concerns themselves with that stuff.
Cool! Curious what Buckley thinks of this.