Most unusual vintage Rolex Ball Watch - How old is it? What is it worth?

[scassidy1295]

Resize_20220921_173516_6498.jpgIt was given to my grandmother by her grandmother in 1948 when she was 17.

Her grandmother was Daisy Cook who with her husband Ralph Cook owned three very successful hotel chains in London. The Chester Palace (or place) Hotel is one of them that we know of.

I have attached pictures below,

Thanks

[scassidy1295]

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[Dan S]

Cool piece, thanks for posting. I'm not sure why we always have the "How much is it worth?" question, but I will suggest that it wouldn't be worth enough to make you want to sell a family heirloom.

[scassidy1295]

As we were not born into a privileged lifestyle she wanted us to sell it if it would enrich our lives. But you're suggesting you don't think it's worth much at all.

[scassidy1295]

My grandmother said she gave us it because she knew we do not come from a privileged upbringing. So passed it down with the understanding we would sell it if it was indeed valuable. She specified she didn't want it to be passed down any further if it is worth a lot of money.

[Dan S]

Well, I highly doubt that anyone will be able to put an accurate valuation on an obscure antique ladies watch, it will just be guesswork. If you want to sell it, my suggestion would be to reach out to a good auction house and see if they are willing to list it.

[scassidy1295]

Thanks, great suggestion.
I've reached out to Rolex themselves as well as they might know more about its production date. I've considered it could be an early prototype of some kind. Before the Rolex brand actually took off. Is it crazy to think this might be the first watch in history to bare the "Rolex" name?

[joli160]

Nice watch and yes that would be crazy to think.

Usually old ladies or cocktail watches don’t bring a lot at an auction but it is probably the only place where you can sell it.

[scassidy1295]

Why would it be crazy to think in your opinion? I can't find any record of it on the Rolex website.

[Nickn]

“It’s crazy to think”
As It’s not the first rolex watch
I think he means

[steversaurus]

Despite this watch being a little more unique, the truth is most of these ladies cocktail watches aren't as valuable as people might think.

I did find something similar from 30 seconds of googling
https://www.lyonandturnbull.com/auct...pp=96&pn=1&g=1

[scassidy1295]

At the same time I found one on Sothebys with an estimated value of $18,000 dollars. So I reckon the example you sent was sorely undervalued. Neither of them have the same inside with the rolex inscription around the bottom perimeter.

[Kingface66]

Originally Posted by scassidy1295

Why would it be crazy to think in your opinion? I can't find any record of it on the Rolex website.

The Rolex website has only a fraction of its history of watches. Not finding it on there means nothing.

Originally Posted by scassidy1295

At the same time I found one on Sothebys with an estimated value of $18,000 dollars. So I reckon the example you sent was sorely undervalued. Neither of them have the same inside with the rolex inscription around the bottom perimeter.

Was the Sothebys one a Rolex ball watch? Do you have a link to the auction?

[1675-David]

Originally Posted by scassidy1295

At the same time I found one on Sothebys with an estimated value of $18,000 dollars. So I reckon the example you sent was sorely undervalued. Neither of them have the same inside with the rolex inscription around the bottom perimeter.

Got a link? For 18k their must be more to it.

[Styles Bitchley]

Originally Posted by scassidy1295

At the same time I found one on Sothebys with an estimated value of $18,000 dollars. So I reckon the example you sent was sorely undervalued. Neither of them have the same inside with the rolex inscription around the bottom perimeter.

Sometimes people with little knowledge and a lot of hope come here looking for valuations (which is against the forum rules) and then start arguing with experts when they don’t hear what they had hoped to hear.

Be patient and wait to see if someone comes by with some specific knowledge of this oddball. It’s quite a neat curio and may be worth something to the right person, but don’t get your hopes up.

[TimeLord2]

It is very interesting! Perhaps in a few years these cocktail watches might be in vogue. There have been some very interesting ladies watches that have popped up on this forum but in the end from some reason tehy do not command teh same prices as for mens watches. Here is a recent example: https://www.rolexforums.com/showthre...light=diamonds

[scassidy1295]

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Screenshot as I haven't made ten posts so am not allowed to post links.

[Dan S]

Originally Posted by scassidy1295

Attachment 1320060

Screenshot as I haven't made ten posts so am not allowed to post links.

Unfortunately, it apparently didn't make it to the actual auction, as I can't find it in the results. I did find one that sold in a Christie's auction a while back for about $2k. So I am suspecting that the two actual auction results are bracketing the correct value between $700-$2000, which actually seems quite strong for a watch like this IMO.

[scassidy1295]

Asking for valuations is only against the rules if you intend to sell it to users or if the model can easily be identified on the Internet. Neither applies in this situation. I wasn't arguing with anyone, I just suggested the watch that sold for £580 was not with highly reputable auctioneers such as Christies or Sothebys so was possibly not valued appropriately. But at this point I'm more interested in learning the history of when it was made, as someone said its basically impossible to ascertain its worth.

[scassidy1295]

I wasn't arguing with anyone, I just suggested that perhaps that watch was not valued appropriately by the seller as it was not auctioned with a highly reputable company such as Christies or Sothebys. At this point I'm more interested in learning the history of when it was made as someone pointed out its basically impossible to ascertain its worth.

[scassidy1295]

Originally Posted by Styles Bitchley

Sometimes people with little knowledge and a lot of hope come here looking for valuations (which is against the forum rules) and then start arguing with experts when they don’t hear what they had hoped to hear.

Be patient and wait to see if someone comes by with some specific knowledge of this oddball. It’s quite a neat curio and may be worth something to the right person, but don’t get your hopes up.

The forum rules say you can't ask for valuations if you're either trying to sell it to a user - which I'm not, or if you can easily Google the model to find out its value, which I can't do because I don't know it nor does anyone else. Neither scenario applies to this situation so I'm not breaking any rules.
At this point I'm more interested in finding out the history of when it was made. As someone said trying to work out its value is basically impossible.

[Kingface66]

Originally Posted by Dan S

Unfortunately, it apparently didn't make it to the actual auction, as I can't find it in the results. I did find one that sold in a Christie's auction a while back for about $2k. So I am suspecting that the two actual auction results are bracketing the correct value between $700-$2000, which actually seems quite strong for a watch like this IMO.

Apparently it didn’t sell

https://www.lot-art.com/auction-lots...5.2.21-sotheby

[Dan S]

Originally Posted by Kingface66

Apparently it didn’t sell

https://www.lot-art.com/auction-lots...5.2.21-sotheby

Makes sense, since the starting bid was $10k. The estimate was obviously silly.

[scassidy1295]

Apologies for duplicate messages, I thought my messages were not posting. We shall likely hold onto it rather than sell it then, but I'd still like to know from Rolex what year it was made and even possibly if it was my great great grandmother who bought it or if it was a gift to her. Thanks for everyone's contributions.

[donq]

Like others have said, these ladies watches don’t seem to be worth much.
Most of their value seems to be in the breakout of any gemstones or precious metals.

If it were owned by a celebrity, or had some big historical significance, that might make it worth something.

As with everything, it’s worth what people are willing to pay, but if no one has bought anything like it recently it’s largely speculative.

But this isn’t something that’s going to allow you to retire or buy a vacation home.

[Old Expat Beast]

Originally Posted by scassidy1295

Is it crazy to think this might be the first watch in history to bare the "Rolex" name?

Yes.

Is that the original box, too?

[miamiclay]

I wonder where Sotheby’s came up with “circa 1914”?

I’d vote you keep it in the family, and put a juicy story with it - A gift to great-grandma from Rudolph Valentino during a secret, stolen weekend in Gstaad, or swiped from Oona Chaplin as a memento after she broke your great-uncle’s heart in Macau, or some such.

[MILGAUSS88]

Here are some actual price results and not estimates.
Your watch might be more desirable, but not 20 or 30 fold. Maybe 2 or 3.
But you never know at auction. Some times there is a couple of suckers in the crowd.

[MILGAUSS88]

A few more results.

[MILGAUSS88]

Here is the image of the identical one from the previous link.
It sold for 562BP with buyers premium, which means hammer price was probably 450BP, which would leave the seller with 350-380 BP.

BP= British Pound