1905 Escapement Salesman Samples in Display Case
GUEST:
My aunt died and my sister and I went down to clean out her house, back in '91. And she was wanting to throw things away and I said no, I'll take it, because I like the craftsmanship. I have no idea what it is except I do know it has something to do with clocks, because it was given to her by a watchmaker.
APPRAISER:
Okay, we notice it came in this very utilitarian case.
GUEST:
Old case. Dirty case.
APPRAISER:
You can see it's probably been dragged around quite a bit. What these are, are salesman's samples.
GUEST:
Oh!
APPRAISER:
So here's the case, he's lugging them around all over the country. Over here it says: "C.E. DeLong, 1905."
GUEST:
Uh-huh.
APPRAISER:
So that's the person who made these. They're in this beautiful display case.
GUEST:
Uh-huh.
APPRAISER:
You know, beveled glass, nice wood cabinet. Each one of these are model escapements. Now an escapement is a device in a watch. After you wind it, it's communicating the energy through the main spring to the balance. Now, each one of these have balance wheels. These round circular brass objects. And that's the part that moves the lever when you hear the ticking in the watch. Now, we have four different types of escapements here. The first one is a cylinder escapement. The second one is a duplex escapement. The third one is a chronometer escapement. And the fourth one is a detached lever escapement. Now, there are advantages and disadvantages to each mechanism. So, as he would go out on the road and try to sell these, he would probably toot the horn of a particular one that cost more money.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
But they may opt to go for one that was less expensive. So these are exploded views of the movements that would eventually end up in watches. These are all handmade. And, you can see, once the load is released--
GUEST:
Uh-huh.
APPRAISER:
--the spring--
GUEST:
Ah, yes.
APPRAISER:
--the balance staff would move like that and the power would eventually be transmitted to turn the hands, so that we could tell time.
GUEST:
How fabulous.
APPRAISER:
Right.
GUEST:
Oh, that's good to know.
APPRAISER:
Now we got to get to the value.
GUEST:
Oh, I don't imagine it's worth anything, so...
APPRAISER:
All right, typically, a model escapement runs around $1,200 to $1,500. So we have four of them. And I feel very comfortable somewhere in the realm of $4,000 to $6,000.
GUEST:
(laughs) My sister's going to kill me. (both laugh) And she wanted to throw it away.
APPRAISER:
She might want to be partners. She may not want to kill you.
GUEST:
No! No way. (laughing) But who would buy it?
APPRAISER:
There are a lot of watch and clock collectors who have a lot of interest in salesman samples. It's a unique thing to have on the shelf, you know, of your store or your shop. All right, thanks so much.
GUEST:
Good. Well, thank you! I had no idea that was worth anything.
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.
