Romilly Chatelaine & Watch, ca. 1750
Watch
GUEST:
Growing up, we had a neighbor we were very, very close to across the street that unfortunately had to flee France during the Nazi invasion. And much to my dad's surprise, after she passed on, she gave him this watch through her will. And unfortunately, my dad passed away about a year ago, so myself and my brother have been the owners of this watch and wanted to find out a little more about it.
APPRAISER:
First, we'll talk about this piece up top. This is called a chatelaine.
GUEST:
Chatelaine.
APPRAISER:
Chatelaine. They made them for men and for women. This one's... it's really for a gent because it's so large and so ornate. Now, it's very beautifully done. Now, the base metal is steel.
GUEST:
Steel?
APPRAISER:
Steel, but it's overlaid with varicolored, or tricolored, gold and silver, and it's held on with rivets. That was the technique they used. There's a clip back here, the clip that's around the pad. This clip would go onto your
sash or your belt. These are little cut-steel swivels here. They would hold different objects. It was kind of like an external type of handbag or purse. You see over here, there's a cut-steel key. This key is for winding the watch. Now we come to the watch, which was made by a fellow called Romilly, who was a Parisian watchmaker. Roughly 1750.
GUEST:
Oh, my goodness!
APPRAISER:
You first came in and said there's no way this is...
GUEST:
Yeah, I was amazed by the condition, and I said, "No way does something go 250 years looking this good," so I was a little concerned it might be fake.
APPRAISER:
The good news is, it's not fake.
GUEST:
Okay, good.
APPRAISER:
It's the genuine article. Next, let's show everybody that it is a watch, and the watch would also serve as a purpose to hang from the chatelaine, and it's a key-wind, and you can tell time. Now, when we turn it over, you see that the watch matches the theme of the chatelaine. Very beautiful, with the layers of gold and a nice scene of two women and a man. It looks like he's presenting her some flowers.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
As you know, condition is everything.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
This piece, fair market value, somewhere around $12,000 to $15,000.
GUEST:
Oh my God! Whoa! I don't know if my brother's getting this back after the show.
APPRAISER:
I'm sure he's going to want to talk to you.
GUEST:
He can have my Casio.
Appraisal Details
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