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A buddy of mine was out hunting for things and stopped by the local Goodwill. This store has been somewhat predictable with when they put out the jewelry. So, my friend usually swings by to see if they missed anything with their research and pricing. And, they usually do.

A basket of watches was put out. He reached in and pulled out a stainless vintage watch. Not too impressive, just a plain watch. He sees the name and it ends in an ‘X’. He thinks TIMEX and tosses it back in.

He pauses for a few seconds and asks the clerk to pull out the watch again and read to him the name. The clerk says ‘ROLEX’. It’s $20. Again, nothing remarkable about the watch and $20 is a lot of money for my friend to waste if it’s a forgery. It’s killing him. But, after a few minutes, he buys it in the end and brings it to the auction we’ve been using.

Turns out, it’s a 1948 Men’s stainless ‘Super Precision’ bubble-back automatic Rolex. The real deal. Well, the auction wants to wait for a better than average auction to put this classic watch in. He had to wait six weeks.

The wait was worth it. The watch got 67 bids and ended up selling for $2325. We’re going to Redbones to celebrate the find and sale. Please toss grandpa’s watch in the donation box at the local junk store. It’ll go to a great cause – me, my buddy or some other lucky dealer.

Bob Adams has been in Somerville 27 years but was a frequent visitor prior to moving here. He worked as a jeweler in a few shops in his younger years, owned his own shop for a bit, sold real estate for 10 years and is always hunting for his next treasure. He has been an antique and collectibles dealer for 30 years. He can be reached at 27winter@gmail.com. Visit his website at www.Somerville.com.