Antiques Roadshow guest floored by eye-watering value of family Rolex 'Can't believe that'

An Antiques Roadshow guest was left gobsmacked by the staggering valuation of his Rolex watch, after expert Richard Price examined the timepiece.

In a rerun of the beloved BBC programme, aired on Sunday 8th June, viewers were transported to Brodie Castle in Scotland, where a parade of treasures awaited appraisal.

Among them was a man who wowed Richard with a 1960s Rolex GMT-Master, inherited from his uncle.

Richard, peering intently at the watch, informed the owner: "All Rolex collectors refer to these things by their reference number," and "You know as well as I do because it says so on the dial that it's a GMT-Master."

The man recounted how he had possessed the watch for some 32 years, as a keepsake from his late uncle, reports the Express.

He speculated that the watch might have been a gift to his uncle back in the 1960s, prompting Richard to delve deeper into its history.

Richard explained: "It's the reference 1675, which is the classic GMT-Master. When you said 60s, I think we could fairly safely say 1960 to 1961, so that all fits in."

Upon closer inspection, Richard was thrilled to find the watch unaltered, noting that many watches are often modified during servicing, much to collectors' dismay.

He said: "They would've changed the bezel and they would've changed the dial with an upgrade," before adding:"You would've had it back thinking, 'Oh, it looks like new'. Collectors hate that, it's absolutely original, spot-on."

But the expert soon expressed his disappointment over the watch, noting it had a jubilee bracelet instead of the original oyster type.

He told the owner: "It's a Rolex product of course, but it says 'Made in the USA'. So perhaps he specified that he did not want the oyster bracelet, he wanted a jubilee bracelet and they put this one on for him.

"Which sort of detracts from it a little bit, probably detracts from it by a couple of thousand pounds."

The guest was visibly disheartened when Richard estimated the watch would have cost between £300 to £350 back in the early 60s.

In response to the valuation, the guest lamented: "Wish he [his uncle] bought more." However, Richard had some good news as well, revealing that the watch is worth "£12,000 to £15,000."

The revelation left the guest in shock, while those around him broke into applause. Overwhelmed, he exclaimed: "I can't believe that, can't believe that."

Antiques Roadshow is streaming now on BBC iPlayer.