Gold Fusee Pocket Watch & Key
Watch
GUEST:
This was my uncle's mother's watch, and I inherited it, and it was stored away for the last 14 years. Just before the Roadshow, I said, "I wonder what's in that box," and we picked this out, and there was actually four watches. This is the one that I picked.
APPRAISER:
This watch was made during the middle of the 18th century, and it would have been a French maker. The watch itself is made of gold, and the stones that you have around it, those are not diamonds, but actually colorless sapphires.
GUEST:
Really?
APPRAISER:
What you would have powering this watch is a mechanical movement, they call it a fusee movement. This is a chain-driven watch. It's really a neat piece of mechanics that you have here.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
In auction, an item like this would sell for around $1,500 to $2,000, estimate. What you have here, though, is you have a little bit of something extra. You have this key that with these types of watches, you never see them, they're always lost. It has a nice piece of quartz in it. The key itself adds about $500 to your item.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
So auction estimate, you would really have $2,000 to $2,500 altogether.
GUEST:
Wow, that's great.
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.
