Man lists James Bond Rolex for $9.95, sells it for $66,100

[Iron Dealer 1]

Man lists James Bond Rolex for $9.95, sells it for $66,100
Bob, the watch's owner, at right, with his scuba-diving friends, including "Superman" Christopher Reeve.

By Wilson Rothman

It was one of those eBay listings that antique dealers and horophiles dream of: A vintage Rolex Submariner dive watch, the kind that Sean Connery wore in the early Bond films, with an opening price of just $9.95.

"This is a one-owner watch," wrote Bob, the retired neurosurgeon who listed it on eBay, "purchased by me at the Navy Exchange on Kwajalein Atoll in 1958." He continued:

It has served me well, but Father Time having caught up with me, I no longer dive. For the last several years it has been sitting in a dresser drawer, and now it's time for somebody else to take it over ... Now that I'm in my ninth decade, I'm downsizing and need to unload a lot of what are really just souvenirs. So here's your chance to pick up a rare iconic timepiece.


The Rolex Submariner Ref 5510 that the owner bought in 1958 at a U.S. Navy base in the Marshall Islands.
Someone might have indeed scooped it up for a song, except that it started to draw the attention of the watch-collecting community. When Bob saw the bidding rise above $30,000, he was flabbergasted. "I thought it was a mistake!" he told the watch-enthusiast site Hodinkee.com, adding that only then did he ask his son for help researching the timepiece's significance and value.

When the bidding finally ended, three days ago, Bob netted $66,100.

For such a treasure, even Bob admitted that its history was rather boring, although as you can see from the photo above, there have been a few highlights. Bob bought the watch because he needed a dive watch, and wore it constantly for a decade or so. But in the mid-1960s, he started to wear it only "intermittently." During the 1980s, the watch enjoyed a resurgence in Bob's life, as he pursued his scuba diving hobby from his getaway home in the Bahamas. (Hodinkee published several shots from this period, including a few featuring the late great "Superman," Christopher Reeve.)

Where the watch winds up next depends on the unknown purchaser. Given the watch's marketability, it might be worth a quick flip. As for Bob, he seems like he'll be fine. When Hodinkee asked if he had any second thoughts about selling, now that he knows it's a treasure, he replied, "None at all."

[Dan Pierce]

This has been speculated, challenged, documented, discussed, and argued over all the watch forums, including TRF.
dP

[rmfnla]

A while back a Skagel knife went for about $25K on the 'bay.

Seller picked it up for $0.50 at a garage sale and was planning to use it to dig potatoes.

He listed it and did fairly well with it.


The best is the chislers who know what the thing is worth and try to convince the seller to end the auction early at a price substantially less than what the thing is really worth.