Rolex bought for £69 sold for £80k at Wiltshire auction

The Rolex watch is extremely rare because it still has its original dial

A rare Rolex watch that was originally bought for £69 has sold for £80,000 at auction.

The Rolex Submariner 5513, purchased from a jewellery shop in Doncaster, is one of the few with a dial showing only the numbers three, six and nine.

These Explorer dials were normally replaced with a standard numberless dial when they were serviced.

The watch, which had only been owned by the person who bought it in 1966, also came with its original receipt.

Because the watch had never been serviced its dial had never been replaced, which auctioneers previously said would have dropped the value to "around £5,000."

The Rolex Submariner watch, being held here by auctioneer Jody Hobbs, was designed for use by divers

Rolex designed its Submariner watch for use by recreational and professional divers.

The watch was sold on Wednesday along with more than 500 other lots at Gardiner Houlgate auctioneers in Corsham, Wiltshire.