Watches

Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith

Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith

ilmarinen - MODERATOR
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A while back we had a thread about fancy watches. I had one in today to work on - it was not your everyday Timex.

The 18K watch was a gents IWC Schaffhausen with diamonds. The onyx dial is etched with the Omani royal crest. It was part of a matched set of watch, cuff links, tie pin, and ring. The set was commissioned by the Emir of Oman as a gift for his Rolls Royce dealer. That man's son now has them. The set values well over 100K.
I'll try and put up some photos later on.
 
What kind of work did you do to it....also just curious, are the inner workings of such a high end watch that much more precise,tighter tolerances?....I don't know a lot about watches....do the actual inner workings have some to do with the value or is it all the high end diamonds and fancy embellishments?....ryan
 
ryan9977 said:
What kind of work did you do to it....also just curious, are the inner workings of such a high end watch that much more precise,tighter tolerances?....I don't know a lot about watches....do the actual inner workings have some to do with the value or is it all the high end diamonds and fancy embellishments?....ryan
Click to expand...

He had dropped the watch and the minute hand came off the post. I reset it in place. Also, he had me cut out one link and re-weld the hinge.
These high end watches rarely have anything special in the movement. A 23 jewel omega is probably as good or better. The real money comes from that thing you can just barely make out in the photo. It is partly hidden behind the minute hand....the maker name. If this watch said Omega, Gruen, even Baume Mercier, it would only be a few thousand dollars. Personally, I don't get it at all.

The best watch I ever appraised was an all platinum gents Cartier, circa 1920s, with diamonds set on every link and the face completely pave' set with diamonds. It had been commissioned by the Sultan of Oman, Taimur bin Feisal, as a wedding gift for the British consul. I appraised it at $250,000. The big box it came in with the provenance plate inside the lid was nearly as impressive.
 
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