Is Your Watch Worth The Price?:

Guidelines For Appraisal


Certainly, a lot of people would want to know the equivalent value of a time piece that has been handed down to them by their great, great, great grandparents. If that would be the case, most likely the watch originated how many years back or even, centuries ago. That actually sounds a great treat especially after the appraisal process because you will just be surprised with the corresponding amount.


Before you sell the time piece though, take into consideration the sentimental significance especially if it is an heirloom because you would be having much difficulty in spotting the very same at this juncture. The watch even with its considerable vintage feature is not advisable to be put up in the market, unless you are in a desperate situation and the only quick way is to have the item up for grabs at a particular cost.


However, if you are decided in vending the time piece, there are certain guidelines you have to be acquainted with. This article will prepare you for the plethora of possibilities that will take place when you are in the actual watch trade. Do not be astonished with the trickeries. Do not even be duped with the silly schemes in the business jungle considering that you are not entering a surreal drama of tough competition.


Going Online
If you have an access to the information superhighway, you will not be having much of a difficulty selling your time piece. A number of individuals have been logging on to an auction site called eBay. When displaying your watch there, you will have a wide range of potential consumers. Not to mention, in a global scale because the webpage can be visited by just about anyone who has a computer with an internet connection.


Upon presenting your time piece in eBay, bear in mind the following:
* Show photos of the movement. Meaning to say, where the gears are situated. Include as well the band, interior of the case and dial. Make sure that the pictures are not pixilated so as not to damage the appeal of the time piece. It would also be an advantage if the file is not big so the potential consumers will not be having problems downloading the image.


* If you wish that your time piece will stand out among the rest, be certain that you will list down all the specifications. These refer to the descriptions of the band, interior of the case and dial as well as the movement. If ever you are not wholly clear with what you have stated, never mind involving those because it will only cause the potential consumers to question and eventually, will turn them off.


* Go into the details of your time piece. You can include the three fundamental components such as train of wheels transferring the motive power to the escapement, motive power from the main spring and escapement granting the motive power to wind down in a gradual mode. However, there are potential consumers who are not attracted to technicalities very deep to cognize.


Reading Materials
Once you have posted your time piece in eBay and potential consumers start pouring in, the next step is to assess the appropriate value. Remember that there is no such thing as a “perfect” amount so your job is to evaluate which among the rest is the ideal. You might instantly agree to the biggest cost given when matter of factly, that is only a small price when you have the watch go through the appraisal process.


In equipping yourself to identify the appropriate value of the time piece, there are a lot of reading materials available for you to browse through. However, you have to make sure that you understand how the books are distinguishing the condition of the watch. Check also if the authors incorporated the values of the case. Take note that there are reference guides presuming that the devices are in “mint state” with a very huge amount.


Over the years, there are two reading materials believed to be very reliable. They are entitled “Complete Price Guide To Watches” and “American Pocket Watches Identification And Price Guide.”
* “Complete Price Guide To Watches” is a collaboration of Richard Gilbert, Tom Engle and Cooksey Shugart. It has been thought to be the “miniature encyclopedia” for time pieces that is updated in an annual basis. This reference material states having its first one hundred pages devoted to supplying the basic information of watches. There are about more than ten thousand items listed in this book where you will also be familiarized with the historical facts and estimation principles.


* “American Pocket Watches Identification And Price Guide” is an effort of Bill Meggers and Roy Ehrhardt. It can be obtained in the Heart of America Press where there are also other reference materials on time pieces from the two authors. The book is a great source for acquiring practical essentials on watches but it does not have a thorough explanation on how to identify the pieces not unlike “Complete Watches” by Shugart covering even European models idyllic for collections.


Evaluation Technique
After you have feasted on the “Complete Price Guide To Watches” by Richard Gilbert, Tom Engle and Cooksey Shugart and “American Pocket Watches Identification And Price Guide” by Bill Meggers and Roy Ehrhardt, you need to have the time piece in your hands so you can perform the proper approach of appraisal. Aside from that, you are required to have a fine background on what is happening in the current market.


In assessing the value of the time piece, there are four general areas to be well thought of. They are quality, beauty, condition and availability. There are also three major parts of a watch to be estimated together with other copious things that will be mentioned further.
* Quality points to the exterior properties and technical details of the time piece once completed from the factory. It comprises the functionality like the ability to present the date but also how delicately the parts of the watch were finished and how admirable the raw materials that were employed. This also touches on the case, movement and dial.


- Case serve two tasks such as safeguarding the time piece from harmful elements such as dust, water and knocks while also conferring a decorative charm like what most jewelry possess. It has various styles such as pair case, demi- hunter, reverso, display, open- face and hunter case. The material will also matter in a huge sense because it will provide you an idea of the value.


A case that is created out of precious stones such as platinum, silver and gold is said to have an intrinsic scrap amount where the price will more often drop lower. A lot of individuals would select platinum as first followed by gold and silver as the last. However, the mentioned enumeration is not the situation at all periods especially that people have an assortment of tastes.


- Movement is the actual machine that maintains time with balance wheel, gears, levers and spring coils. It has several sections such as adjustment, standard, design, manufacturing tolerances, materials, finish and complications. Adjustment will determine how the manufacturer fared in the area of accuracy and consistency through various circumstances.


Standard touches on Kew certificate, marine chronometer, railroad guide and Swiss chronometer. Finish can either be matte, gilded, damakeening and gold trimmed. Complications include automatic winding, sweep seconds, repeater, chronograph, calendar, fusee, automation, remontoire, tourbillon, moon phase and wind indicator.


- Dial not only possesses operational facets but even in the artistic sense. It will aid you in reading the long hand and short hand. A great kind of time piece with such should glow in the dark so you can still be able to indicate the specific period. It then follows that the dial should be in similar condition as to the case and movement because even with how minute blemishes can be, there is an effect.


As a customer, you can actually request a special type of dial that can be broken down into divisions such as material, style, numbers and hands. Material can be paper, metal, fancy or enamel. Style can be double sunk, flat unsunk, seconds at 3:00, ground center and single sunk. Numbers can be applied, Roman, Canadian, Montgomery, Arabic, Ferguson and luminous. Hands can be spade, whip, moon, gold, blued and dual.


* Beauty refers to the aesthetic importance of the time piece. As they say, it is in the eye of the beholder. A watch that is attractive to you may not be true to the individual beside you. However, that is not much of a surprise especially that people are really unique to each other. This aspect has also been among the reasons why at this juncture, such items now arrive in abundance where you will even be baffled with the selections in the market.


* Condition points to how close to recently produced from the plant the time piece is. It also touches on what has happened to the watch since the period of acquisition. If the item has been employed in a rough manner where there are already scratches on the glass, the state is affected. Albeit there is an exception to the rule especially when the device is utilized by a notable personality, the circumstance will compensate.


There are some individuals who consider the condition as highly essential among the rest. As a matter fact, there are instances where a time piece that is not much of a quality but still appears to be new even if old can generate a fair value when compared to a watch that is already tarnished beyond repair is near to without any amount at all. You may think that it is ironic but that actually boils down to grading, age, case, movement, dial, history and originality.


- Grading can be summarized into three, “mint”, “average” and “excellent.” If you browse through books, you will notice that there are terminologies such as “g- 5” or “g- 7” while there also others like “80%.” Do not confuse yourself because there is a corresponding meaning that is just the same with each other. It would also be good for you to know that there is no universal standard because the usage will vary in a vast sense.


- Originality is fitting for individuals who fancy a time piece that has not be added or subtracted. This is not in any manner arithmetic but touches on the parts that have been changed or maintained. There are also people who are very meticulous in this area especially those that are into collection of watches. This has something to do with case swapping, incorrect dials, mismatched hands, side winder, replaced bows and repaired enamels.


* Availability refers to requisition and rarity. If a lot of individuals would be requesting for the time piece, requisition increases but there is also a disadvantage to this because in the long run, there would be rarity especially when the stock parts are hard to find because of its first- class quality. Then again, requisition is equivalent to how many people are interested while rarity is distinguished by the quantity of the item in the market.


This aspect on availability will always follow on the principles of economics such as supply versus demand. Condition causes the aftermath of supply while quality will determine demand. It is actually like a string where demand can surge up supply though supply cannot press on demand. This is the reason why at this juncture, the McCoys are rampant in the market which you should be very vigilant because imitations have been done excellently where it would be headache to decipher when you are not well- versed with time pieces.


Whether you wearing Vacheron Constatin or Patek Philippe, it would be an edge to identify the worth of the watch. How much do you think is the price of that on your wrist?