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The first watch was undated but had COMEX on the back. This alone was valued at £20,000. It was the second watch, complete with original paperwork, receipts and the owners diving logs to show provenance, that really caught the audience’s attention. A gasp went round as this was valued at between £40,000-£50,000 in January 2019.
In the intervening months, the market for these rare watches has rocketed. A Rolex Submariner 1680 sold for double its estimate at a recent specialist watch sale in Geneva, reaching a value of CHF 524,000 (£442,000 July 2020).