14 January 2024 , 22:24
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Antiques Roadshow viewers took against a Rolex valuation on the BBC show.
The long-standing programme, hosted by Fiona Bruce, visited Alexandra Gardens in the heart of Cardiff on Sunday. Expert Alastair Chandler was thrilled to hear the story of an unusual Rolex watch as he shared with the owner whether the piece was a fake.
Explaining the provenance of the watch, the guest said: "It’s a watch belonging to my father who passed away just before Christmas. My father was a welding lecturer from the 60s to the 80s and mid 70s, he had a student arrive from Oman.
"Lovely boy, my dad helped him not just with his course but found him somewhere to live, found him a car to drive. So when it was time for him to go home, he wanted my father to have this watch as a thank you. My father was not happy to accept it, but the student insisted and said he had gold ones, so really, this meant nothing and he would like my father to have it to remember him by."
The guest was unsure whether the Rolex was real (BBC)"But, we didn't ever know whether this watch is a genuine Rolex watch," she added. Antiques Roadshow viewers weren't impressed with the valuation and took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to complain about the frequency in which Rolexes appear on the BBC show.
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One frustrated fan ranted: "Things you'd like to hear the experts say on the #AntiquesRoadshow: 'Not another fucking Rolex!'" Another wrote: "Is #AntiquesRoadshow sponsored by Rolex? Every chuffing week!"
And a third added: "The weekly #Rolex section #Yawn #AntiquesRoadshow." Someone else said: "#antiquesroadshow Same boring Rolex stories every week," while a fifth joked: "#antiquesroadshow just breaking for its usual Rolex commercial break."
Another quipped: "19 minutes for the weekly Rolex #AntiquesRoadshow." The Antiques Roadshow expert went on to share some information about the watch's origin and revealed: "There are certainly a lot of fake Rolexes, they're probably one of the most faked watches around.
"In about 1954, Rolex introduced one of their first lines of what they call sports watches now, which are hugely successful and have gone from the 50s all the way through to present day. They’re a real collectible and iconic watch, but this particular model was designed in conjunction with the American Airline pan-am and their pilots.
"Their flights were going more intercontinental, so they asked Rolex to create a watch with a dual timezone." Alastair confirmed the Rolex GMT Master was indeed authentic as he explained: "In the 1970s, there were fake Rolex being made, but this wasn't a particular popular model and I don't think there were many good fakes at this period.
"It's got all the correct numbering, it's got all the correct lettering, the hands are correct, the dials correct." The expert revealed the watch could fetch between £7,000 and £10,000 at auction, leaving the guest pleasantly surprised.