Pocket Watches

[Jerry1]

My dad gave me three pocket watches. I want to sell them. I don’t think there’s anything special about them. They’re old, working and in good but used condition. A bit of eBay surfing makes me think they’re worth maybe a few hundred each.

I’m wondering if anyone on here has a suggestion on how best to sell them. I don’t want to go to a pawn shop as I probably wouldn’t get half their true value. I looked into setting up an eBay account, but for the few things I want to sell, I’m just not interested in setting up an account or dealing with them.

Do jewelry/watch stores buy older watches? Any ather possibilities? My biggest concern is trying to find someone who will be fair. I’m not trying to get top dollar, but if one of the watches is worth significantly more than what I’m thinking, I like to know that.

Thanks.

[Sunset]

You could take them to 3 pawn shops and see what each offer.

Ebay or Etsy will be a good option.

Whatever you do will require effort, generally the less effort, the less reward.

[SumDay]

In another life, I was named Guardian of the Person for a Holocaust survivor who was a client of the attorney I worked for. She had a pocket watch she kept at the nursing home, and was convinced it was worth a bazillion dollars and she wanted me to get it appraised so she could take out an insurance policy on it. Full disclosure: she had Alzheimer's and was nearing the end of her life.

Long story short, it wasn't worth anything, but I spent a great many hours verifying that fact. I found a couple of You Tube videos that pretty much summed up what I was told by the many jewelers and appraisers I visited. I still have it - it's an interesting and tragic memory.

I'd ask around for a couple of names of reputable jewelers in your area. Good ones will help you get top dollar for it if they are actually valuable. Years later we went through something similar when DH's aunt left us her 'priceless' coin collection. And then there were his dad's Avon bottles....

Good luck.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3qjXfRZPLI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkpNIvwX3xA

[Jerry1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SumDay And then there were his dad's Avon bottles....

Are you trying to tell me that classic car that English Leather came in is worthless

Thanks for the videos.

[Chuckanut]

I still have my Hai Karate instruction sheet to defend myself against women who cannot resist me. What is that worth?

https://youtu.be/_vq94cxeCw8

[cbo111]

This is an interesting thread. Sorry to hijack the pocket watch discussion, but you got me thinking about my grandmother who was an Avon lady for decades. So during my childhood I naturally built a "nearly" priceless collection of Avon bottles. Cologne contained by cars, baseballs and baseball bats, animals, the golden Gate bridge, a glass book, and so many others. I lugged several boxes of these newspaper-wrapped gems around the world for about 30 years (literally, I was in the military). The only time I would think about them was at moving time; we would have the standard discussion of "hey here are those Avon treasures, where should we put the boxes." Then one day, I don't know exactly or even approximately when they disappeared, but they are gone. I hope they ended up in a good home.

[Ready]

I would try Craigslist. It’s much easier to get thing set up there than EBay.

[travelover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ready I would try Craigslist. It’s much easier to get thing set up there than EBay.

Maybe, but you have a much smaller audience. I've had better luck selling collectibles on eBay.

[GravitySucks]

Estate / Antique instead of pawn shops.
I've bought all jewellery gifts over the last 5 years from a local estate dealer. Prices are about 20% retail and no receiver seems to care that a gem is not brand new.

eBay is probably best for selling though.

[cooch96]

You can ask a forum specializing in watches. I frequent watchuseek.com. There are some gents there with savant level knowledge of watches.

I’d rather to a reputable pawn store than a brand name jeweler. Ideally, I’d go to a watch repairman. Or at least go to a clock repairman and see if a watch specialist works there.

[folivier]

Also check with any smaller watch, gold, jewelry dealers. I recently sold a Rolex and the owner drove an hour, paid cash, and beat all of the online out of state buyers.

[RISP]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jerry1 My dad gave me three pocket watches. I want to sell them. I don’t think there’s anything special about them. They’re old, working and in good but used condition.

What brands are they? If it's not Patek, Omega, or one of a few others, they are likely worth next to nothing. There is hardly any market for pocket watches. Wrist watches yes, but not pocket watches.

A few years back, I bought a beautiful 1910s pocket watch with a porcelain dial on eBay for less than 50€.

[cooch96]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RISP What brands are they? If it's not Patek, Omega, or one of a few others, they are likely worth next to nothing. There is hardly any market for pocket watches. Wrist watches yes, but not pocket watches. A few years back, I bought a beautiful 1910s pocket watch with a porcelain dial on eBay for less than 50€.

There are passionate RR collectors, so a working Ball pocket watch with some history will be worth a few thousand. Which I guess isn’t really all that much, but it’s kept pace with inflation. Hah!

[SumDay]

One more feature I forgot is the new Facebook Marketplace feature (if you're on Facebook). It seems less smarmy than Craigslist as you get to "rate" sellers and buyers after a transaction is done, and it's a real person with a name in case you need to get law enforcement involved. We've gotten rid of quite a bit of stuff, and also bought a few things using this new feature. Doesn't cost anything!

[Jerry1]

There are:
Hampton Watch Co 7 Jewel 1886
Elgin Nat’l Watch 15 Jewel 1886

These two are in envelopes where I think my dad had them repaired back in 1998 based on what was written on the envelope. That’s where I see the jewel and date information.

Then there is just one in a plastic bag that is another Elgin Nat’l Watch Co. It’s the nicest looking one, but who knows if the translates to being worth more (or worth anything for that matter).

There is a clock repair shop not too far from me. Maybe I’ll take them there next time I’m in that area. In the meantime, I’ll check out the web site that cooch96 mentioned. I wouldn’t mind eBay, but I’ll need to find that already has an account. I really don’t want to set one up.

Thanks

[mpeirce]

I have an E. Howard and Sons pocket watch from the 1860's. It was my great great grandfather's.

I have no idea what it's worth and don't especially care (haven't had it appraised). But it sits on the shelf in my den in a prominent spot.

[Jerry1]

Yeah, if my dad or his dad actually used these, I would not think of getting rid of them. They’re kind of cool, but it’s just part of my life right now to get rid of stuff we’re not using or that has no real sentimental value.

One of the watches is different in that you don’t pull up on the stem to set the time. It has a latch mechanism. I’m guessing that one my be of more interest to someone than the others. I presume it might be an older design. We’ll see.

[SumDay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jerry1 Yeah, if my dad or his dad actually used these, I would not think of getting rid of them. They’re kind of cool, but it’s just part of my life right now to get rid of stuff we’re not using or that has no real sentimental value. One of the watches is different in that you don’t pull up on the stem to set the time. It has a latch mechanism. I’m guessing that one my be of more interest to someone than the others. I presume it might be an older design. We’ll see.

Please come back and let us know how it goes. You've piqued my interest.