18K Gold Pocket Watch, ca. 1885
Watch
GUEST:
It's been in my family for generations. It was supposedly made by my great-great-great-grandfather. It was handed down to my grandfather and then to my father and to me. Supposedly it was made with Jules Jurgensen. I think he was a jeweler from Massachusetts. The watch was on display in Massachusetts for a long time. Other than that, I have very little history about it other than what's in the letter.
APPRAISER:
So the letter was written, you believe, somewhere in the 1940s?
GUEST:
Late 1940s.
APPRAISER:
And the signature at the bottom is your grandfather's signature.
GUEST:
That would be my grandfather's signature.
APPRAISER:
It talks about the watch. The watch is a masterpiece of horology.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
It's a perpetual calendar. It knows how many days are in each month, and on the fourth year, one gear ends up knowing that it has 29 days in February.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
It also is a minute repeater, which means it chimes in a succession to the nearest minute.
GUEST:
Wow. (chiming)
APPRAISER:
It would ring hour bells, then quarter-hour bells, and then minute bells. Okay. It also shows the phase of the moon. It also has another function, which is a chronometer that you can time something with. The case is made out of 18-karat gold. It's a hunting case. When you open the watch up in the back, there's an exhibition cover which then shows the entire movement. There's an issue I have with the letter. The letter says that the watch was 140 years old when the letter was written. The watch, though, was probably produced between 1880 to 1890. So if it was written in the '40s, then the watch was about 60 years old. When we see something where one thing is off, then we have to wonder, are there other things that are off? So it says in the letter that your great-grandfather, I guess, was a watchmaker working with Jules Jurgensen. Now, Jules Jurgensen was a preeminent watchmaker in Copenhagen. He worked from in the 1850s to the 1890s. The firm stayed around for years. They were noted for very, very fine watches, also, like this, very, very heavy 18-karat gold. The watch has the feel of what a Jurgensen could be.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
The price of the watch as is, with having a disparity in the date on the letter and as if it was not made by Jules Jurgensen, the value on the retail market would be in the $25,000 to $30,000 price range.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
Now, underneath the dial and on some of the plates of the movement, a lot of times there are secret signatures. It probably would be worth spending a little money and having an expert watchmaker disassemble the watch to see if there is anything underneath the dials.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
If there happens to be the "J.J." mark of Jules Jurgensen, that could double the price of the watch.
GUEST:
Okay.
Appraisal Details
Executive producer Marsha Bemko shares her tips for getting the most out of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.
Value can change: The value of an item is dependent upon many things, including the condition of the object itself, trends in the market for that kind of object, and the location where the item will be sold. These are just some of the reasons why the answer to the question "What's it worth?" is so often "It depends."
Note the date: Take note of the date the appraisal was recorded. This information appears in the upper left corner of the page, with the label "Appraised On." Values change over time according to market forces, so the current value of the item could be higher, lower, or the same as when our expert first appraised it.
Context is key: Listen carefully. Most of our experts will give appraisal values in context. For example, you'll often hear them say what an item is worth "at auction," or "retail," or "for insurance purposes" (replacement value). Retail prices are different from wholesale prices. Often an auctioneer will talk about what she knows best: the auction market. A shop owner will usually talk about what he knows best: the retail price he'd place on the object in his shop. And though there are no hard and fast rules, an object's auction price can often be half its retail value; yet for other objects, an auction price could be higher than retail. As a rule, however, retail and insurance/replacement values are about the same.
Verbal approximations: The values given by the experts on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW are considered "verbal approximations of value." Technically, an "appraisal" is a legal document, generally for insurance purposes, written by a qualified expert and paid for by the owner of the item. An appraisal usually involves an extensive amount of research to establish authenticity, provenance, composition, method of construction, and other important attributes of a particular object.
Opinion of value: As with all appraisals, the verbal approximations of value given at ROADSHOW events are our experts' opinions formed from their knowledge of antiques and collectibles, market trends, and other factors. Although our valuations are based on research and experience, opinions can, and sometimes do, vary among experts.
Appraiser affiliations: Finally, the affiliation of the appraiser may have changed since the appraisal was recorded. To see current contact information for an appraiser in the ROADSHOW Archive, click on the link below the appraiser's picture. Our Appraiser Index also contains a complete list of active ROADSHOW appraisers and their contact details and biographies.
