1907 E. Howard Railroad Pocket Watch
Watch
GUEST:
This watch belonged to my grandfather. He worked for the Western Union telegraph company, installing telegraph lines along the railroad lines. One day, he and his crew were in the tunnel. His watch said the train would not come, but the train did come, almost killing the entire crew. That watch got thrown against the wall of the tunnel, and this watch was purchased to replace it.
APPRAISER:
If you look at all the indicators, you can see it's almost overdone. Usually we have five, ten, 15, 20. This one breaks it all down into increments in two-tone red and black. It's made by E. Howard and Company, Boston, Massachusetts. This watch was manufactured in 1907. Most railroad watches were gold-filled. This one has a 14-karat yellow gold dueber case. This one has a hinge cover, again, very rare, very unusual. So in a watch that I may have told you two years ago was worth $1,500, now I can confidently say it's worth around $3,000.
GUEST:
Wow, really?
APPRAISER:
Yeah.
GUEST:
That's very gratifying. Well, I never knew my grandfather--he died before I was born, so it's nice to have something that he owned and used.
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."
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