A Rolex Submariner Watch Worth Rs 7K In 1964, Fetches Rs 41 Lakh At UK Auction

By OB Bureau On May 12, 2023

New Delhi: A Rolex watch, purchased in 1964 for Rs 7,000 sold at auction in the UK for a staggering figure of Rs 41,11,692.

It was a Rolex Submariner model, also known as ‘The Diver’s Watch,” which was launched in 1953 and was the first divers’ wristwatch to be waterproof to a depth of 100 metres (330 feet), now 300 metres (1,000 feet).

The BBC reported that the watch was owned by Simon Barnett, a diver who worked on rescue helicopters in the Royal Navy and died in 2019. His son, Pete Barnett, sold the watch at an auction in his home town of Diss, Norfolk. The watch made an appearance on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow and was later valued by the auction house TW Gaze at between 30,000 and 45,000 pounds.

According to Barnett, his father used “to time his dives” with the watch during his service in the Navy.

“He had to know how long he had been under the water, and that was the only means by which he could do it. In those days, a Rolex Submariner was a tool; it’s not the fashion accessory it’s become now,” he was quoted as saying.

Pete, a retired police officer, told The Metro: “I would wear it all the time, and I felt very close to my father while wearing it. But after finding out how much it was worth, I couldn’t walk around with potentially 60,000 pounds (Rs 61,65,941) around my wrist.”