Luck happens when opportunity meets preparation, and that’s exactly what happened with Zach Norris. In 2015 the man walked into a Goodwill charity store in Phoenix looking for a golf cart. As an avid watch collector he was immediately drawn to a pile of watches that was packed with Fossil timepieces. One watch caught his eye and it bore the LeCoultre name. His fascination with vintage and rare watches paid off as he immediately recognized the
second-hand LeCoultre Deep Sea Alarm. The Arizona man certainly wasn’t expecting to find a vintage and ultra-rare Jaeger LeCoultre timepiece in the store and certainly not for $5.99.
A dealer for the brand authenticated Norris’ discovery, and thanks to enthusiasts on Hodinkee.com, a website for watch collectors, another watch collector, and Rolex dealer from San Francisco snapped it up for $35,000. Collector Eric Ku, even threw in an Omega Speedmaster watch worth $4,000 when he met Norris, turning it into the deal of a lifetime. The LeCoultre Deep Sea Alarm is one of the most desirable watches ever made by Jaeger-LeCoultre, with less than 1,000 made. They were among the first watches made with alarms for use by divers. Norris’s watch featured reference “857” on the caseback above the case number “775340”. The correctly-signed LeCoultre caliber K815 movement featured serial number 1389359. It did show some wear and tear in the hour hand, but was unpolished and overall in good condition.
Source – Facebook
This is where the financial story turns romantic. The proceeds from the sale went to pay for his wedding to his fiancee, Leandra Knudson. The good man also donated a portion of the profits back to Goodwill.
‘Sometimes they just miss it, they don’t know,’ Norris told AZfamily.com. ‘It’s not a very fancy-looking piece. You have to know what it is.’ Per Hodinkee, Zach’s luck favored him once before when he found a vintage Enicar Sherpa ultradive for $41.43 at the Brass Armadillo Antique Mall in Phoenix. The uncommon watch, which was easily worth $1000, has been spotted on Zach frequently since then.
