There is not much that Jack Nicklaus hasn’t won on the golf course. The highlight of his achievements would certainly be his 18 major wins. The Golden Bear also had 55 PGA Tour victories to be proud of. However, as per his interview with Benjamin Clymer from Hodinkee on YouTube, his most prized possession is his Rolex.

The two met in Southern Florida, as Clymer mentioned that his guest is not a watch collector. But he still has one watch that beats many other collections. Wanting to get some history on the legend’s watch, the host asked him what year he got the watch.

“1966, I was in Japan for the Canada Cup, now the World Cup,” Nicklaus told Clymer. “Arnold Palmer had a relationship with Rolex. Rolex asked Arnold, Gary Player, and myself to come to a cocktail party. As a thank you for coming to the cocktail party, we’d like to give you a watch.”

Nicklaus was already one of the biggest stars in golf before the 1966 Canada Cup. He had already won 6 majors and was one of the most decorated golfers on the PGA Tour. The same goes for Arnold Palmer and Gary Player, who had already achieved some big wins in their career by that time. So it doesn’t come as a surprise that they received special invitations from Rolex.

However, as Nicklaus admitted, he had never worn a watch before. So he may not have known which one to pick. But he had a friend help him out. “I think Gary Player looked over and said, ‘Take that one, it’s the best one.’ It wasn’t this particular watch, but it was an example (a replica) of the Presidents Day date.”

With Player’s guidance, Nicklaus ended up choosing a golden Rolex Reference 1803. He didn’t get it immediately, though, as the brand designed a fresh piece for him. As Nicklaus mentioned, he received it much later.

Nicklaus said, “Martin McCormack was doing my work from IMG. Rolex delivered the watch to mark the next April (1967) in Geneva. That watch at that time was retailed for $300.”

As he mentioned, he eventually received the watch from Rolex in April 1967. Well, at least his agent from IMG did. And as he mentioned, he purchased it back then for $300. According to the inflation rate, the watch would have cost about $2,912 today. However, the valuation of the vintage watch has also increased drastically, and it costs about $14,000 to purchase it.

As valuable as the watch is, it’s not about the money that makes it a prized possession for Jack Nicklaus. He also mentioned why he treasures it so much.

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The memories Jack Nicklaus has created with his Rolex

Wearing a $14,000 watch may be a dream for many. But Jack Nicklaus is not concerned about the price, as he continues to wear it today. There is a sentimental value that’s attached to it, which doesn’t allow him to let go of his Rolex.

He said, “I wore that watch all my life. I think, virtually, every tournament that I ever won, I’m filmed if the watch is visible or if there is a visible place on my wrist, that watch was on it.”

The video shows Nicklaus holding many of his major titles while wearing the Rolex. It clearly shows him showing off the title and his watch at the same time. It may not have caught everyone’s attention at first, but looking at a series of similar pictures, you can see Nicklaus is proudly showing off his watch as well.

He mentioned how this is the only watch he has ever had. In fact, he didn’t even want to turn it into a family heirloom. “I didn’t want to just give it to one of my kids. It would probably end up going into a drawer some place.”

Instead, he would prefer to donate the watch to charity. Jack Nicklaus understands that he might not be around forever, but the watch will have a longer life. To that, Clymer added that a charity would certainly benefit from the watch, as it is one of the top three most important watches in the history of sports.