1890s American Waltham GOLD pocket watch

G...O...L...D

GOLD

As amazing a find as ever I've found.

I found it last summer at a flea market.  The vendor was a young girl with a table full of junk jewelry.  I thought this was a very pretty, but obviously a better-than-average, repro.  I asked her the price, and she said... well, it was the same price as all the other junk jewelry.

Also set up at the market was a watch dealer.  I showed it to him, and he just about fainted.  The watch dates to around 1894, he said, and all it needed was a mainspring.  Also, he said it was gold-filled, and worth about $125.


It sat on my desk until a month ago, when I brought it to the jeweler I use for watch repairs.   The manager said it was really pretty, and in exceptionally fine condition, considering that it was only gold-filled.  (Stay with me here.)

The other clerk looked the watch over and over, and finally asked, 'Do you mind if I test this?  Because to me it looks like gold.'  Of course, I said yes.

Five minutes later, he comes bouncing back, all excited.  It IS gold!!!!!!!

This jeweler offers Cadillac-level service when dealing with watches, so the watch was fully cleaned and repaired and what and what.  The manager told me that when they got the guts out of it, there was 22 pennyweight of gold.  He also told me -- more than once -- (he loves to yak) that the watch should sell for...

...

...

...

about a THOUSAND dollars.