Bit of pocket watch help, please

Hi,

My Dad has gifted me a really lovely 18k gold pocket watch that was his 50th birthday present from my Mum in 1994 and now it's my 50th present. he's done so with the full knowledge that pocket watches really aren't up my street but I may be able to put the money towards what I've been chasing for my 50th (a 124060).

He says he was offered just over 4k for it last year from a dealer but never took it as he was after 5. Like most things, I want to do my homework on this, see what it it is and what it's realistically worth. I have a receipt from the dealer back in '94 stating that it's a 'gents 18k hallmarked gold full hunter pocket watch with centre second chronograph movement. Bears the Chester hallmark for 1886'. But it doesn't tell me who made it. Cost mum 1400 GBP back in '94, which was a lot for us back then.

Can any vintage pocket watch aficionados shed any light on this, please? I'm totally clueless. Dad says the maker was still going in early 1900s but can't remember who made it, and I can't make sense of the calligraphy on the movement.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...8b8ed8e5_c.jpgHunter mvmt by nickgaters, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...d8001a21_c.jpgpocket watch dial by nickgaters, on Flickr

it's lovely thing, very heavy (can't imagine going hunting with this in my pocket)! Goes well, ticks incredibly loud and seems to keep reasonable time, comes with a 30 hour movement as well. M<usty have been ground breaking at the time.

Probably worth Googling for "centre second chronograph hunter Chester 1886" for recent auction prices (although these are likely to be better-known names, such as Thos Russell or similar). That movement was made in the tens of thousands and I don't recognise the name on it (sorry). It'll be beating at 18,000bph, so each of the 300 markings should correspond to the seconds hand moving at 1/5sec. Nice thing.

Not something I can claim to know much about, but a very nice piece to own. I'd put it in a bell jar designed to display a pocket watch, too nice to keep in a drawer and not very practical to take out and use as intended. Selling this, which has some family history, to acquire a new Rolex seems wrong to me, a bit like swapping steak for sausage. One's got genuine antique quality and appeal, the other's merely a modern-day overpriced trinket.

Sorry. Just had a look at an article in the HJ from 1983 (by Dr Robert Kemp) and realised the name of the retailer is H Wolf.

I was beginning to wonder if I was missing something - the watch is signed with the maker's name which might have been easier to spot if that bit of the photo was in focus.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Carlton-Browne

I was beginning to wonder if I was missing something - the watch is signed with the maker's name which might have been easier to spot if that bit of the photo was in focus.

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Unlikely to be the maker - it’s pre-1890, so not LWC. Probably one of the Coventry factories: Williamson, Newsome, Yeomans or Richardson.

Didn't H Wolf become H Samuel, eventually?

I think I'm confusing my Wolfes and my Wolfs. The watch is by Wolfe, not Wolf. Probably.

Thanks all, some interesting information; it’s sent me down a rabbit hole of googling now. I’ll be keeping it - it’s worth far more to me knowing that Dad loves it so much and you never know I may come to appreciate it for what it is as well. As one post mentioned, this is better than a shiny trinket I’m chasing right now - luckily I have the cash put away to pay for it I was just getting in-patient.

I’m hugely sceptical as to whether it was worth anything like the 4k quoted, so glad I don’t live in the world of antiques as I imagine it’s so easy to lose your shirt by not doing your homework properly.

In fact, in the 90’s my Dad was an antique dealer. Never ceased to amaze me as a teenager that probably 90% of the deals were between dealers and therefore pricing was never really tested by your average punter in the street. Bit like all the New York insta watch dealers currently just trading with each other for the insta likes!

Thanks again all for kicking me off in the right direction for research.