Because it is rare, that insert is so sought after by collectors that it can fetch more than $30,000 these days, said Eric Wind, a dealer of fine vintage watches in Florida, up from maybe $10,000 just a few years ago. On Submariners made in the third quarter of 1957, the bezel insert was made with an unusual red triangle at 12 o’clock and slightly different typography on the numerals. A bezel insert is the featherweight aluminum disk with numbers on it that surrounds the dial of a diver’s watch. What even makes a watch valuable? Consider the bezel insert from a 1957 Rolex Submariner. But does that make them a good investment? ⊛ Khoo’s add credence to the idea that fine watches are a soybean or a copper, another investable commodity. Those who have bought in have seen at least double-digit returns since the fund’s inception six years ago, Mr. The Watch Fund, run by Dominic Khoo, a shareholder and watch specialist with the auction company Antiquorum, offers people a chance to invest in rare and limited-edition watches at prices that can be 50 percent or more below retail. If you’re still 1 percent-ish but would prefer to dabble, there’s good news. Top athletes including Rafael Nadal, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James have served as celebrity ambassadors for brands like Richard Mille, Hublot and Audemars Piguet.
In professional sports, high-end timepieces have long seemed as indispensable as a shoe contract for stars with seven- and eight-figure incomes.
One also made a cameo on the wrist of Pierre Png’s character in “Crazy Rich Asians.”) ( Adam Levine and Ed Sheeran have been spotted wearing Paul Newmans as well. 8, have museum-worthy Rolexes and Patek Philippes, helping to establish a head-turning timepiece as a tech-world style flourish to rival the hoodie.Įllen DeGeneres wore a holy-grail Paul Newman-model Rolex Daytona from the 1960s, now worth perhaps $250,000, while bantering with Jerry Seinfeld in an episode of “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” last year.
Silicon Valley heavyweights like Kevin Rose, the Digg founder, and Matt Jacobson, Facebook’s employee No. His bank vault contains a vast array of collectibles, including sapphire-encrusted gold Rolexes and Luftwaffe watches from World War II, that he has said is valued in the “tens of millions.” John Mayer’s watch collection is nearly as famous as his guitar work.