Early 19th-Century Bovet Pocket Watch
GUEST:
It's a family heirloom that my grandfather won in a gambling game in New Orleans in the '30s. My mother gave it to me and said it was probably of some value, and that's all I know.
APPRAISER:
It's a very fine key-wind watch, gold, enamel and pearls. It was made by Bovet, a Swiss maker, and it was produced in the early 1800s. It's a superior quality mechanism and it's signed "Bovet" on the gold bezel. It's a duplex escapement, the finest quality polished steel mechanism, with bluing done on the interior steel parts at the bottom. It was made for a very sophisticated Chinese market, and it is the superior enamel of the time. Bovet hired the finest enamelists in the world to do floral scenes for the Chinese market. It's referred to as a Chinese duplex. They are rarely seen. I've handled approximately half a dozen of these over the past 35 years. And the Chinese market right now on fine enameled watches is extremely strong. At auction, I would conservatively estimate the watch at $20,000 to $30,000. (laughing) And I would fully expect it to bring the higher amount.
GUEST:
That's amazing.
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.
