Christmas has come early for 95-year-old English farmer James Steele, who finally has been reunited with his long-lost Rolex, restored and ticking again. Back in August, we came across this endearing story of how a Dutch watchmaker named Kalle Slaap was helping Steele by restoring his vintage Rolex that had passed through a cow’s digestive system and was lost for almost fifty years. While taking up this challenging project, Slaap promised to return the watch to Steele in fully working condition by Christmas. However, the Dutchman outdid himself and completed the restoration almost two months early, making Steele a very happy man.
The backstory of Steele’s Rolex
James Steele, a British dairy farmer, lost his beloved Rolex in the 1970s while bringing in his cows for milking. He had bought the Rolex Air-King in the 1950s for around £100 with all the extra money he had saved from milk deliveries in his early 20s. On an unfortunate day, the Rolex broke off his wrist and fell into a grassy pasture. The farmer desperately searched for his beloved timepiece for days without any luck. He gave up hope when a vet told him the watch might have ended up in a cow’s stomach.
Last summer, a metal detector enthusiast named Liam King decided to help Steele. Miraculously, the Rolex was picked up by the metal detector at the family’s land in Shropshire, England, after being lost for almost fifty years. However, the Air-King was found to be in bad shape. The case had rust and dents, while the crystal was severely scratched and cracked. The dial had also turned yellow. However, the watch was in much worse condition than the cosmetic damage suggested.
A challenging restoration project
Kalle Slaap learned about this incredible story from British media and offered Steele’s family to restore the Rolex for free. Little did he know that it would be a massive challenge. The Air-King was brought to his workshop in Grootschermer, North Holland, where he spent 160 hours restoring the watch. The Dutchman documented the whole restoration process through weekly videos on his YouTube channel.
Incredibly, only 20 percent of the components had to be replaced, including the crown and the crystal. Slaap also decided not to remove the natural patina and the scratches to retain its incredible history. The watch specialist said: “It was a challenge for us. I had never seen anything like it. You don’t often see so much rust in a watch. It became a kind of scientific experiment: which parts can you still save after so many years,”
The story finally got the happy ending it deserved
Slaap and his team managed to complete the restoration two months ahead of the time he had originally promised. The Dutchman traveled to Oswestry in England to personally deliver the Rolex to Steele. “I wanted to bring it to him myself because it’s such a special story,”
Slaap told regional broadcaster NH. “He couldn’t believe the end result. There are so many fond memories attached to the clock and he thought he would never see it again.” Incredibly, the Rolex has given Steele a new lease of life. The 95-year-old farmer told the local newspaper The Advertizer : “I have a smile on my face again. People say I look much younger. This way I think I can live to be 100.”
Update: Kalle Slaap uploaded the final update video of the Cow Rolex series on YouTube, sharing his experience of driving down to the UK and handing over the restored watch to James Steele. The presentation was not only attended by the Steele family members but also the Mayor of Oswestry. The watch specialist was gifted with a received a coin from 1694 on which King-Stadtholder William III of Orange is depicted with his wife Mary Stuart. Apparently, the coin was found on the same farm by the same metal detector that tracked the Rolex. What a story!
