We've been invited to the first-ever Rolliefest in the U.S.
We don't even really know what that means.
I think it's a bunch of Rolex collectors who brought their most valuable pieces.
So it's taking place at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel.
I got my Rolex, you got yours?
No, but I'm gonna try to get my hands on one.
You need a loaner?
So at this point we have no idea we're walking straight into the middle of a "sexpile."
That will make sense in a few minutes.
We're also gonna run into a very radioactive Rolex.
I mean, should we have had some sort of protective gear or something?
I'm pretty sure yes, but here we go!
Inside this fancy ballroom is where Rolliefest is going down.
The room's packed with about a hundred guys. Every one of them is a Rolex lover.
And every single one of them is obsessed with what's going on in the middle of the room.
There's a table full of sick watches in the center of the room.
We heard there's tens of millions of dollars of Rolexes here today.
While we're working our way around this Rolex feeding-frenzy, Erica spots Geoff Hess.
He's the mastermind behind the first ever Rolliefest in America.
He's also the gatekeeper who personally invited every single guest in this room.
And of course, he owns some very sweet watches.
Including this one that some people call the 'James Bond' watch.
Jeff tells us it's actually worth over $500,000 dollars.
Wow. Crazy.
This is a Rolex 'big crown' from 1958.
It's the same watch, it's the same reference that
Sean Connery wore in Doctor No and in Goldfinger.
So how many Rolex watches are here today?
I would estimate there's at least 500
Rolex watches here today.
Mostly from the 1950s, 60s, and perhaps some from the 70s as well.
So, right now this seems a little bit crazy and there
doesn't seem to be a lot of organization. What is actually happening?
Really what's happening is you're watching a great sharing of passion.
This table won't become organized in all likelihood.
And this is just a gathering of 110 people from 13 countries.
So it's like a Rolex brotherhood?
It's a bit of a Rolex Brotherhood.
A ticket to this invite-only brotherhood is 850 bucks.
It's a weekend long event that includes a big luncheon
and a spot at the table for showing off, touching, and trying on the Rollies.
It's a room full of a lot of trust because you just showed her a $500,000 dollar watch.
It's just sitting here there's lots of really expensive watches.
And if you've noticed, I've left this on the table and I've walked around
and I haven't given it one second's thought.
And that's shocking.
We are all friends here. It is unequivocally a room
full of trust and love.
We have never had a watch go missing in all the years that
we've gathered, not once.
We got a pair of Rolex cookies.
This is the Rolex I'm gonna be able to take home.
I wonder, I mean this is technically stealing - but...
The other thing that's shocking, this isn't a Rolex endorsed event.
In fact, it's not a commercial event at all.
This is really just a bunch of watch obsessed
collectors celebrating their favorite vintage Rolexes.
It's a combination of Geoff's friends.
People he met on Instagram, and others he met auctions
or through online chat forums.
This is a 1962 Rolex GMT, they had exclamation points on the dial.
That little dot. That itty bitty one?
Oh like an exclamation point, I see it now.
So Erica is about to find out this
guy does not like to talk about money.
And what's the value on something like this?
Oh we don't talk about that, c'mon.
No?
But I do know one guy here who isn't shy about
talking price tags.
This is Paul Boutros and he's the
head of watches at Phillips auction house.
I'm a little embarrassed I came
with a naked wrist.
Do you have anything for me?
I can solve that.
I've got a lovely
Rolex GMT-Master from 2018 we call it the Pepsi.
It fits a lady's wrist perfectly.
You will look very sharp today.
Yeah, I have news for you. That would fit a guy's wrist too.
In this room, how much money in Rolexes are floating around?
I would conservatively estimate about $50 million to $100 million dollars in
vintage watches, predominantly Rolex.
How much money on that table right now?
I took a little look around and my guesstimate is about $30 to $40 million dollars on the table.
A few of the collectors told us that this table
has a nickname.
A slightly inappropriate nickname.
And Ray's about to put Paul on the spot.
So somebody called this table an "orgy."
No no no no. It was "sexpile"... technically speaking.
Is that how you call it? Yes, but I don't want to talk about that on-camera.
Sorry, Paul. You're way classier than we are.
But the truth is this pile of watches is really called a "sexpile."
Interestingly, the term was actually coined by a female watch collector. Shocker!
So what happens if you search #sexpile on Instagram?
Huh I don't know. Let's try it.
Is it porn or watches?
It's watch porn. Hmm.
That's kind of hot.
So we pulled a few collectors off the sex pile
and invited them to a VIP suite to show us their pieces.
He means timepieces.
Meet Mike Bindra.
You're looking at some of my best pieces without a doubt.
He's a Rolex collector who's got a thing for first editions.
And there's a pattern in the face.
That's correct honeycomb texture to the dial.
And that's the first year of this model?
Correct, Rolex Milgauss.
The version that exceeded this they no longer had the lightning bolt secondhand.
And that's just one of the features that makes this piece super valuable.
This is called a Double Swiss Daytona.
This is from 1963 so this is actually the very first iteration of Rolex Daytona.
There is a little Swiss at the bottom of the six o'clock sub dial
and then there's another one below it.
Historically super important it's the first one but also aesthetically I just love it.
For the next watch Mike whips out a 1958 gold GMT- Master with a radioactive history.
He uses a black light to show us the glow on the dark bezel and face.
And this is where the radiation comes in.
Turns out in the 50's they made stuff glow with radium.
This is also part of the toolkit this is radiation-
Richter?
Oh gosh. What level are we at?
Well right now we are at - this is good **** he's got a radiometer.
We're at 236. Done, that's as high as it goes, can't go any higher.
You are serious don't go near that thing.
No that thing is pretty radioactive.
Do you have to protect yourself from a watch like that?
I don't wear it for long periods of time.
Gorgeous but dangerous at the same time.
Other collectors like John field look for the ultimate in vintage color.
What you have on here is a Rolex GMT from 1964 Pepsi bezel it's blue and red.
The red and blue is really really really faded.
Yes.
So what would you call it is it patina?
We would call that patina if the way the watch ages over time
can be very unique to that individual watch.
John's also the proud owner of two 1962 models.
Originally these were both standard black dials.
The dial has aged to a lovely brown fade and this is a six-figure dollar watch.
What explains for the dramatic difference in color if they're so close in age?
People think that because the watch may have been in a tropical climate in South America
that may have some influence on the way the dial has changed color.
But Alan Hammer's collection is one of the most unique.
It includes a solid gold Rolex custom built for the sultan of Oman.
And here have a look right above the 6 o'clock, that's the royal crest of the family.
Wow. That's cool.
Also in Hammer's Rollie-dex.
I see what you did there.
Is a rare pair of watches issued to military divers.
And they still have the original nylon bands.
It's very rare it was only made in one year.
So it was made in 1959 and that's a reference 5510.
They're really special because they're military.
They were fighting for God and country to keep us safe.
What's the dollar value of these six if you had to put number on it?
Mmm. This is Rolex math happening in his head.
Somewhere over a million dollars.
So we talked a lot about price tags.
But most of the guys here say it's not about the money.
It's really all about the love of watches
and money.
This really purely an expression of passion and love.
So if there was a king of the sex pile which watch would it be?
Oh that's easy, the king of all vintage Rolexes is says is this Daytona Rolex.
Is that the most expensive Rolex ever sold?
Mm-hm and while it wasn't at the Rolliefest I did get to strap it on.
Wow that's cool is that Paul Newman's old watch?
Yes it is and here's the moment it smashed a world record.
(12 Million)
The bidders with really deep pockets from all over the world were
vying for the chance to wear this one home.
(13 million)
And when the gavel dropped...
(It is history now)
Newman's Own sold for a whopping seventeen point eight million bucks.
Phillips still won't reveal who the winning bidder is.
But we can tell you that proceeds from the sale benefited a
charity that was founded by Paul Newman's daughter.
That's cool.
And according to my Rolex we're out of time.
I hope you enjoyed our VIP tour through Rolliefest
and that sexpile.
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