Is all that Rolex paper and cardboard really important?
Collecting watches with Boxes and Papers
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In the art and antiques trade collectible pieces are considered more valuable when they have a known provenance. For watch collectors, the equivalent of a provenance is a watch with its original box, receipt and timing certificate.
But do 'box and papers' really equal a rarer watch? Not always. For example, with one of the best known collectibles of today, the 1016 Explorer, we see that its value with box and papers has increased. But because the watch was made from the mid-1960s to the late 1980s, in fact you will find quite a lot of them with their original packaging intact. The Explorer II model, on the other hand, was made in far fewer numbers, and as such any examples with boxes will be that much harder to find.
Obviously the age of a piece is important. To find an original 6204 Submariner model from 1954, which still has all its packaging after forty-six years, is a most rare event. Other factors are influencing the rarety of a watch. Take the first Sea-Dweller 1665 model, with red writing on the dial, which is extremely popular with collectors. It is a very rare sports model and was produced for five years only. The main market for the Sea-Dweller was the professional diver, who regarded it as a tool of his trade, and so probably wouldn't have seen any reason to keep the packaging. Therefore a Sea-Dweller with all its original packaging is indeed a rare find. However, the white dial Sea-Dweller that followed it, was probably produced in fewer numbers and should probably be considered a rarer find, here it is the look of the first Sea-Dweller that is influencing the price.
Dealers will often give a box with a watch when it is sold, if the watch is from the mid-1970s onwards. An effective way to check if the box is original to the watch is to look at the end of the outer cardboard box, which will have two paper stickers. One of these looks like a supermarket price tag, and displays the model number. The other is a circular sticker that should be of the same colour as the watch dial colour.
Paperwork is easily checked, but the buyer should be aware that early paperwork often had only the model number printed on it. It is quite easy to write a 'unique' case number on years afterwards. Later paperwork has a pinhole system, with the case number picked out in the holes, and these are difficult (but not impossible) to fake. Paperwork that lacks the pinhole system, and is filled in by hand should be regarded with some scepticism.
It is always nice to find a watch with other supporting paperwork in addition to the timing certificate. This could include original receipts (and it can be most depressing to see how much the first owner paid!), as well as calendars and other cards. Particularly nice are the little cards which describe the watch's features, and urge you to remove the card and use your box as a cigarette case. The popularity of smoking in the 50s and 60s means that few of these cards survive!
So next time the collector sees a watch advertised with box and papers, he must ask himself some questions. Is this a widely available piece with a high price just because it has its original packaging, or is it a rare piece made even more so because of having its original paperwork intact, and therefore worthy of the price? The collector must decide.
Sea-Dweller 1665 model with full box and papers