Guest collapses when he learns real value of watch he paid $345 for

The “Antiques Roadshow” guest kept his cool as an appraiser said his watch, snagged decades ago in the Air Force, was no ordinary Rolex. Informed that it was a lot like a model once worn by Paul Newman that auctions for $200,000, the owner just nodded.

Then the appraiser noted the tiny word “Oyster” inscribed on the clock’s face. That made the trinket “extremely, extremely rare,” the kind of watch that sells for $400,000.

The man toppled backward to the ground with enough force that his feet flew up into the air.

There was laughter and a mildly concerned, “You OK?”

The Rolex was also in nearperfect condition, the grinning watch owner heard next. The discount purchase that set him back $345 in 1974 — in the range of a month’s military salary — was now worth between $500,000 and $700,000.

Appraiser Peter Planes declared it one of the greatest watches he’d ever seen on “Antiques Roadshow.” The moment, filmed on tour in North Dakota, would top the season’s finds and delight staffers who say they’ve never seen a guest literally floored, even on a TV show that thrives on stunning people with the value of objects often tucked away for years.

“It’s one of the rarest Paul Newman models, and in this condition, I don’t think there’s a better one in the world,” Planes said in Monday’s kickoff for the program’s 24th season.

The watch owner, whom “Antiques Roadshow” has identified only as David, greeted the final dollar estimate with closed eyes and a word that was bleeped out.