Hi all,
A friend of mine recently rummaged through an old box that his grandfather had and discovered an old watch that appears to be quite a rare and possibly valuable piece. As he has no interest in watches, he’s planning to sell it and asked me how he may go about it - as I only ever buy watches, this left me to wonder whether anyone in here could suggest some vintage dealers in or around London or whether anyone has experience or advice on using auction houses.
I’m deliberately avoiding giving details on what he found as I’m not selling anything personally and don’t with to come across as someone trying to break rules with a stealth sales thread. If I have misunderstood the rules and this also goes against the forum policies then I’ll be happy to take this down (assuming I can do that)
Thanks
Steve
Watchcollecting.com are quite good from a sellers perspective. No seller fees, you can set a reserve
Another option would be to consign the watch to a vintage specialist if you aren't in a rush for the money as you'll receive more than you would if it was an outright sale
I would ask Mike Wood of The Old Watch Shop.
He is a true enthusiast as well as a dealer, and has an extremely good reputation for honesty and integrity.
I can't speak for him, but I suspect he would be happy to advise.
It really depends on the name on the dial. Clearly there is something there that has you thinking it might be rare and valuable. Watches of Knightsbridge would be worth talking to as would Bonhams, but I think you would get far more helpful responses if you said what it was or even posted a picture of it. It is a watch forum after all and I’m sure the pitchfork gang would approve on this occasion as we try to assist with your question.
Definitely more details required, ones persons rare and valuable can differ from another’s.
Are you thinking valuable as in high £100s or £1,000s+
Cheers,
Ben
..... for I have become the Jedi of flippers
" an extravagance is anything you buy that is of no earthly use to your wife "
Yep, can’t you give some broad categories?Originally Posted by ben4watches
PP/AP/VC
Military
Rolex
Associated with a notable person or event
First half 20th C
Second half 20th C
Etc.
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Ken I am fairly sure that Knightsbridge will not now list anything that they don’t think will meet a reserve price of £1000.
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Interesting, but punters presumably must still contact them not knowing what their watches are worth even if WOK end up saying sorry, it’s not for us.
Again, without details we just don’t know. I’d love it to be one of the Antiques Roadshow type finds, a late 50s early 60s Sub or GMT, full set, original shop receipts and never touched because it stopped working in 1968 and Grandad just put it in his sock drawer.
Thanks for the replies.
A few details. The watch is, I think, a JLC Geophysic from 1958. It was my friends grandfather’s watch and has sat in a box for the best part of 50 years. It doesn’t have original box or papers, but does tick. I’ll upload a picture when I figure out how to resize it or can get a device with Tapatalk on it.
You could also try - https://www.vintage-wristwatches.co.uk/
Quick picture
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Looking on Chrono24 watches very similar are listed at £20k+ and there seems to be what looks like modern reissues of the same watch which are much cheaper. Given that it’s a top Swiss name I’m sure most of the big grey dealers would be interested. It might be worth asking Watchfinder or watches.co.uk etc for their buy in price and see what happens. Even if you don’t want to sell to them it will give you a ballpark figure which is a useful start.
Reference E168. I’m quite surprised at its value at around £15k - £20k
V. surprised at the price of these!
Thank you all for the great suggestions. I’ll feed them back to him and see how he gets on.
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