Grandads Watch

Hello my friend. I sat down at my first watchmaker’s bench at sixteen, in the Swiss mountains where watches have been made for three hundred years. Today I restore watches in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and almost every week someone walks in holding a watch in both hands. “It was my grandfather’s,” they say. “Is it worth anything?”

Too often, they ask me after they have already polished away the marks, let a stranger “fix” it with the wrong parts, or sold it to the first jeweler who offered eighty dollars, for a watch worth two thousand.

This guide teaches you to look at your watch the way I do.

What you’ll be able to do:

• Tell whether your watch is mechanical, automatic or quartz, and describe it like an expert
• Read the marks that prove whether a case is solid gold, gold-filled or plated
• Spot a railroad pocket watch, a fake, or a “frankenwatch” built from mismatched parts
• Find out what watches like yours actually sold for, not what sellers hope for
• Decide whether to service it, sell it or keep it, and know exactly what to say to any buyer

What’s inside (52 illustrated pages):

• Part 1, What Is It?: mechanical vs quartz, anatomy of a watch with diagrams, reading the dial and case back, the gold marks chart, pocket watches and railroad grades, plus 12 brand cards: Hamilton, Elgin, Waltham, Illinois, Bulova, Gruen, Benrus, Longines, Omega, Rolex, Seiko and Timex.
• Part 2, What Is It Worth?: real, fake or frankenwatch, the Sold-Price Method, what adds and destroys value, and when to get an independent appraisal.
• Part 3, Service, Repair or Leave It?: what a service involves, what it usually costs, and how to find an honest watchmaker.
• Part 4, Sell It or Keep It: every selling option compared, word-for-word scripts (including what to say when a jeweler offers $80), and how to store, insure and keep it well.
• Printable pages: watch identification sheet, sold-price research sheet, questions to ask a buyer, and the family watch record.

Four bonuses included: Before You Sell (the 10-point checklist), the 30-Second Flea Market Check, the Gold Marks Card for your wallet, and A Letter to the Next Owner.

How it arrives: this is a digital book (PDF). You can download it straight after paying, and the link is emailed to you too. Nothing is shipped. Read it with the watch in front of you, and print any page you like.

7-day money-back guarantee: if it isn’t for you, reply to your receipt email within 7 days for a full refund.

Every old watch tells two stories: the time, and the family.

Anton

This guide is general information, not an appraisal, authentication or financial advice. Have anything potentially valuable seen by an independent appraiser before you insure or sell.