1903 Presentation Box-Hinge Multicolor Gold Watch
Watch
GUEST:
Well, this belonged to my great-grandfather. During the Civil War, he became a captain in the Union Army, after which he came to Texas and settled in Galveston. And he became the chief of police in Galveston. Several years later, he was hired to go to Sour Lake, Texas, to do some earth work. So he took his crew with him. And when they went to Sour Lake, a group decided to tell him that his African-American workers were not welcome there and had to leave. And he ignored them, until a mob showed up one day. And he stood down the mob with nothing but his shotgun full of birdshot and convinced them that he was not going to leave and his workers were going to stay there and do their job. And Sour Lake, being a lawless place at the time, was very grateful to have somebody there that would stand up for law and order, and they presented him with this watch.
APPRAISER:
The pocket watch is made of 14 karat gold.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
And it's called a box-hinge multicolor.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
So at the top and at the bottom, it's boxed where the hinges go. The multicolor is all different colors of natural gold with some alloy, and there happens to be two horse heads-- one here and one over there.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
In the center, it's set with a European cut diamond.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
There's an inscription on the inside of the watch. The inscription says, "To Ed Ketchum, for your stand in defense of human rights at Sour Lake, July 9, 1903, from your friends." Now, the watch is made by the Hampton Watch Company. The watch itself was made in 1888.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
It was sold by the M.W. Shaw Company in Galveston, one of the most prestigious and best firms in Texas in the turn of the century.
GUEST:
Good.
APPRAISER:
Did you have any idea of what the value would be?
GUEST:
I have never, never considered it.
APPRAISER:
At auction, although it could go for substantially more if you found the right two people bidding, we feel that the watch would probably bring somewhere between $20,000 to $30,000.
GUEST:
Wow. (laughing) I'm shocked. I had no idea.
Appraisal Details
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