Antiques Roadshow guest baffles experts with ‘rare Rolex no one’s heard of’

An Antiques Roadshow guest left an expert stunned by a rare Rolex "no one's ever heard of" in a recent instalment of the popular Sunday night show on BBC Two.

The show sent watch enthusiasts into a spin when they showcased an incredibly rare Rolex during a visit to Northern Ireland. Experts were taken aback when they saw the seldom-seen timepiece, which most people may not be familiar with, according to specialists.

The programme's in-house professional examined the stunning accessory, known as the 'Rolex Sky Rocket', on Sunday. "I would suggest that most collectors have never heard of the Sky Rocket," the expert said. The owner revealed his son had bought the vintage watch from an online auction two years ago for what now seemed like a bargain price of just £300.

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The Antiques Roadshow pro described the piece as "unusual". He went on to say: "First, it's a Sky Rocket, there were very few made. And the word Sky Rocket is unusual though, we know the Sea Dweller, the Sky Dweller, but we, most people have never heard of the Sky Rocket."

"It was made exclusively in Canada. And they curiously didn't use a Rolex movement, which is very unusual. Rolex adapted a Swiss movement for this watch. And they called it the Sky Rocket. I have no clue why, but it was specifically bought or made for Canadian pilots in the Second World War.

"And what's more unusual about it is the size I mean, it's minuscule really, and pilots' watches in the Second World War were notoriously very large. But mostly because they're all worn on the outside of those flying jackets with a great big bracelet and they usually around 45 to 25 mil watches."

After going into more detail about the watch, the expert explained what it was made from, adding: "All of them were made in base metal cases. So this is an alloy case, and they had luminous style luminous hands.

"And strangely, they were made with these silver dials as opposed to the black dials, which you would normally expect. So everything about the spec on this watch is completely different from all other military watches."

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He revealed just how rare the watch was before shocking the guest with its valuation. The owner couldn't believe it after finding out it could make four figures if it was to go under the hammer. "I think it can easily fetch between £1,500 to £2,000."

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