Antiques Roadshow

GUEST: Redd Foxx was a client of mine from 1989 till his passing in 1991.

Redd Foxx definitely needed a lawyer.

One of the... his opening acts was a client of mine and he referred me to Redd.

Redd was a little cash strapped but we helped him out a lot and that's how he paid me, gave me the watch that he had gotten from Elvis Presley.

APPRAISER: Wow, you kind of buried the lede there.

You started with Redd Foxx, but we're here in Las Vegas, and you have an Elvis piece.

GUEST: Yes.

APPRAISER: Truly.

This is what I call compound provenance, when you have one famous person giving something to another famous person.

There was the auction that Redd had to satisfy his debts for the IRS.

GUEST: Yes.

APPRAISER: So is this when you were helping him?

GUEST: I was helping him from, as I say, '89 through '91.

APPRAISER: So you, you lived through that?

GUEST: I lived through that.

We, uh... the IRS gave him a very fair deal, basically ten cents on the dollar based on his age and based on the fact they determined it was a previous accountant attorney who had gotten him in trouble.

And it worked out well to everybody, for everybody.

APPRAISER: Well, I have to ask, how much did he owe you?

GUEST: Uh, that is still confidential, even though he's long gone.

APPRAISER: (laughs) Did you feel satisfied with your payment for the work that you did?

GUEST: Yeah, because he also, when he got the gig on Royal Family and Harlem Nights, he compensated me in dollars too.

Eddie Murphy was gr... and Paramount were great to him.

And then he was here at the Hacienda on a almost a nightly basis, uh, and a resident...first residency in Las Vegas.

APPRAISER: I know Redd Foxx mostly from Sanford and Son, which is probably how most people know him.

But obviously he was a stand-up comedian and he continued to work well up, up until the time he died.

Have you ever worn it?

GUEST: No, I've never worn it.

APPRAISER: This thing is a what I would call a tour de force.

It's not subtle.

(chuckles) And then when you talk about Elvis and jewelry, he was not known for subtle pieces.

GUEST: No.

APPRAISER: He was very much over the top and he was very generous.

But this isn't just normal generosity.

It's nearly 170 grams of 18 karat gold.

GUEST: (laughs) APPRAISER: So just in the gold melt scrap weight, we're talking about nearly $10,000 just in gold.

GUEST: Well, obviously I never wanted to put it on my wrist.

APPRAISER: Right.

GUEST: So it's kind of been in a s... a safe for, uh, the last, what, 30-some years.

APPRAISER: So the really important part on this watch is the fact that there's an inscription on the back that reads "To Redd from Elvis Hilton Hotel, 1977."

GUEST: And ironically, I think that's the year that Elvis wound up passing.

APPRAISER: He died August 16th of 1977.

It is marked that it's 18 karat gold.

There is a maker's mark.

It is only one hand and that is how it is designed to look.

GUEST: Really?

APPRAISER: It's not meant to have two hands.

GUEST: I don't know that.

APPRAISER: You have really high-quality diamonds, beautiful sapphires.

The color on the sapphires is really great, but it's a really beautifully made, high-quality piece.

I think a conservative estimate at auction, I would feel very comfortable at least $80,000 to $120,000.

GUEST: Wow.

(laughs) That, that paid the bill easily.

(laughs) APPRAISER: Should you find an image of Elvis wearing this watch-- certainly worth looking into...

GUEST: Absolutely.

APPRAISER: ...because that could add another layer of value to it.

GUEST: Absolutely.