Is It Worth Restoring Antique and Vintage Watches?

Questions and Answers about Watch Repair.

Did you find grandpa’s old pocket watch in a drawer or inherited a family heirloom watch. Is it worth repairing and what is involved? This article will help you answer some questions if you should decide to restore the watch to its former glory or not.

• What kind of watch is it? Most American made watches maintain value depending on the quality. The more jewels a watch has, the better. The serial number can provide a great deal of information about the watch. If possible, open the back cover and inspect the movement for the serial number, not the numbers on the case, but on the movement. Then go to www.pocketwatchdatabase.com and put in the serial number and maker. The information about the watch will display showing details like, year made, size, grade, jewels and quality. You can then search online like eBay and see what the watches are selling for to get an idea of value. Railroad Grade Pocket Watches are the most valuable, also military watches for WWII.
• Condition? What is the condition of the watch, is it rough, is it missing parts, is the crystal broken, and most important, do you see rust? Most watches can clean up well and parts are still available for most American Made watches. Does the watch fully wind up? If so the mainspring is not broken. Does the watch run? All watches need maintenance to keep them in good running order, an overhaul will most likely be all the watch needs. A watch with many missing and broken parts may not be cost effective and may require a parts movement to make complete.
• What is the case made of? Look for a marking on the case indicating what it is made of. 14K gold cases and silver add value. Most cases are plated or what is called rolled gold or nickle. A case in good condition adds value to the watch.
• Does the watch have sentimental value? If this watch is a family heirloom, and the repair cost exceeds monetary value, it still may be worth repairing to bring it back to working condition, especially if the watch is to be passed down. It is always better to hand down a watch in working condition to the next generation.
• If the watch is high grade, it will be worth more than the cost of an overhaul. Most watches if serviced and running are worth more. The decision to repair most watches is not to sell it, but to honor the memory of a family member and bring the object they carried during their life, back to life. A watch was something they depended on, valued and looked at many times a day.

The following is an example of a watch and the overhaul service. The watch was the customer’s grandfathers. His grandfather lived on a farm and used a pocket watch daily, although, this watch was probably carried on special occasions. You can see the rough condition of the watch before service. The watch did not run, the mainspring was broken and the crystal needed to be replaced. As it turned out, the watch is good quality and the movement was in excellent condition. A great example of a Hamilton Pocket Watch from 1912.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for reading this post, if you have any questions about having your watch repaired, use the contact for more information.