Appraisal Description: 50 mm diameter, three leaf, polished 18k yellow gold, hunting case pocket watch made for Tiffany & Company, N.Y.C., Swiss made, circa 1920. The case is double hinged and has polished gold outer covers, one with the original owner’s initial(s). There is a fluted ball gold pendant (no bow) placed at the twelve position. The inside cover carries no Swiss hallmarks and is simply marked Tiffany & Co, 18, case no. 14969. However, since the case number matches the movement number this it is Swiss made. There are numerous repair dates faintly marked inside the front cover. DIAL – Round white enameled dial with stylized Arabic hours (in the early Art Deco style), closed bar minute ring with red Arabic markers placed every five minutes along the periphery of the dial, sunken subsidiary seconds @6 and steel Continental type ‘Spade’ hands with the upper dial marked, “Tiffany & Co. Geneva”. MOVEMENT: A partial barrel bridge marked, ‘Tiffany & Co.’ In script, finger bridge movement, fully jeweled (some set into gold setting in the movement plates), Breguet hairspring, mono-metallic balance wheel with Mustache lever escapement with jeweled pallets and traditional Swiss made Index regulator marked in English, ‘Slow/Fast’ with the movement serial number, 14969. CONDITION: CASE – The pendant is missing its bow. There is a small ding on back upper left quadrant, modest scratching to the outer back cover and a small dent near the bottom hinge. Currently operating to the minute. Keeps time perfectly.
Dimensions
Acquired From:
Inherited
Hello Susan, Thank you for sending in your grandfather’s gold pocket watch to mearto.com for an appraisal. I shall try to help you with that today. TITLE; Gent’s, 18k yellow gold, manually wound and set, keyless, hunting case pocket watch made in Switzerland for Tiffany & Company of New York City, circa 1920. DESCRIPTION: CASE - 50 mm diameter, three leaf, polished 18k yellow gold, hunting case pocket watch made for Tiffany & Company, N.Y.C., Swiss made, circa 1920. The case is double hinged and has polished gold outer covers, one with the original owner’s initial(s). There is a fluted ball gold pendant (no bow) placed at the twelve position. The inside of the cover carries no Swiss hallmarks and is simply marked Tiffany & Co, 18, case no. 14969. However, since the case number matches the movement number I would imagine the case is also Swiss made. There are numerous repair dates marked inside the cover. DIAL – Round white enameled dial with stylized Arabic hours (in the early Art Deco style), closed bar minute ring with red Arabic markers placed every five minutes along the periphery of the dial, sunken subsidiary seconds @6 and steel Continental type ‘Spade’ hands with the upper dial marked, “Tiffany & Co. Geneva”. MOVEMENT: A partial barrel bridge marked, ‘Tiffany & Co.’, finger bridge movement, fully jeweled (some set into gold setting in the movement plates), Breguet hairspring, mono-metallic balance wheel with Mustache lever escapement with jeweled pallets and traditional Swiss made Index regulator marked in English, ‘Slow/Fast’ with the movement serial number, 14969. CONDITION: CASE – The pendant is missing its bow. There is a small ding, modest scratching to the outer cover and a small dent near the bottom hinge. DIAL – This is the real problem if sold on the watch market. This dial has a severe compound fracture stretching from the base of the hands towards the 56, 60 and 43 minute markers. Small solitary fracture at the 33 minute marker. The minute hand, although in the correct form, is a replacement and is too thick. MOVEMENT – A very well made Swiss movement. Tiffany usually used top of the line Swiss watch firms to make movements for them. COMMENTARY; WATCH MARKET: The appraisal of this pocket watch is for sale on the watch market and not on the gold market. Therefore, the condition of the dial plays a major role. {Below, although I have no weight for this watch, I did a quick calculation for you, based on your estimate, if it were sold into the gold market.} If this watch were in mint condition it would sell on the watch market in the range of $2000-$2250. However, with the case having a couple of dings and the condition of the dial indicating that this watch was dropped and has significant fractures the pricing on the watch market will drop to the $800-$1000 at best. GOLD MARKET: Based on your estimate of 110 grams (I do not know how you can estimate that. I mean I can guess people’s weights but not estimate the weight of an egg in grams, nor ounces) the weight of this watch is then equal to 3.880136 ounces X 40% (the weight of the dial and the movement) = 1.552544 ounces of 18K gold X 0.750 (18/24ths to obtain the weight of pure 24k gold) = 1.164408 ounces of pure gold X $1,527.24 (today's value of gold) = $1778 less a 15% retailer fee for taking care of this transaction on the gold market for you = $1511 (to you). I hope that helps you with understanding the watch and how it is valued in today’s market. My best, David
