if you were to sell an old Gold Rolex..how?

[MRM]

I think the question is whether your father had an emotional attachment to the watch. If he kept in a drawer and hauled it out for weddings and funerals only, it wouldn't mean as much to me. If it was his everyday watch it would mean more.

It's not worth anywhere near what a new Rolex Day-Date costs, but it's still worth several thousand dollars if you find someone who wants one. I saw a number on eBay that are asking for close to $10,000. Those are likely to sit forever and are probably just serving as advertisements for the jewelry shop that has them and is hoping local someone sees it on line and stops buy to look at it in person. It's probably worth $5,000 at least. You could either trade your watch to a collector on Timezone who has something you want or put that money toward a watch you'll love and appreciate forever. And when you look at the watch you like, you'll remember that it came from your father's watch. Again, if there was a close attachment I don't think I'd want a "reminder" watch, but if it was a more distant relationship, I'd be happy selling it and buying a watch I wanted that reminded me of the watch I sold to buy the one I had.

One final thought. How you wear the watch affects how "blingy" it looks to others. I have a similar watch that I wear under dress shirts, usually with a sport jacket or suit, and it looks small compared to a lot of modern watches. I asked someone who is usually hypercritical about people posing with baubles if I was too showy. She said I wasn't because I carried it well. So maybe you'll get used to it after wearing it a bit.

[motion]

Originally Posted by jorian

As others have said, I would keep a watch that my Dad owned unless I needed the $ for kidney or something. Who knows, YOUR kid might want a watch like that one day. I have an Omega from my grandfather that I wear on occasion.

This

Hang onto it, Cliffie.

[Don Plumley]

I agree with Cliff - Sell the watch. It's a thing. Let someone else enjoy it, everyone is happier. Things bring weight. Some of my mother's things for example, I kept her Ikebana shears because I know she used them, loved them, and it's symbolic for me. Her watches and jewelry, just things.

[javadog]

Here's my advice as an ex-watch collector. At one point, I probably had three dozen watches (if I include those that I bought for the wife) and about a third of those were Rolexes. A couple of those were 18Kt YG Presidents. I've since sold them all and am now without a watch for the first time in 50 years.

If you don't have an emotional attachment to it, don't keep it. We keep far too much crap and, as you get older, you'll understand this more and more.

A bark finish on the band and bezel of a President will reduce the value but it's still worth some decent money. With a watch like this, condition and provenance are everything. If you lack the original receipt and box, that will hurt the value a little. If you want to maximize the value, get it serviced by an Authorized Rolex service center and sell it the day you get it back. You'll have a warranty that is valuable to the buyer and a way to document it's authenticity. There's a service center in SF; walk in with the watch, let them inspect it and give you a quote. A service by an independent won't be worth much and you'll eliminate a good chunk of potential buyers. There are too many fake parts out there and a recent Rolex service eliminates that worry.

Finding additional links of the band would be a good idea. All Rolex parts have value so there is a brisk trade in them. Buying them ahead of the service and having Rolex put them on is your best bet.

I've had the best luck with high end watches when selling them on watch forums. There are many out there, some are better than others for expensive watches. Ebay gets a lot of exposure but not all of the money, usually.

JR