Reply To: Pocket Watch Cases

[watchthebear]

I have noticed this also and assumed it is because the cases are worth so much in melt (gold , or silver in some cases) that dealers and investors don’t want to carry this sometimes-volitile commodity as part of their inventory. I think this also is a function of these traveling-shows that have been going throughout the US setting up sites to stage 3-day buying extravaganzas: “we will buy your old gold and silver”. This is a good question , and i have been thinking about salting away some of these movements. My problem is: at what level, or caliber, are they worth buying and saving to put back in cases? A person could have bought hundreds of Elgins and Walthams etc, in the $25 range, said to be working; but, once these are cased is there any market for them? They probably won’t be in original cases. I wonder if a person would have to select the movements, perhaps much more expensive, that will stand the test of the watch buying and collecting public. What say the folks who buy and sell pocket watches on this forum? I think if a person buys the cheap Elgins, Walthams, Hamiltons, and such, they will just end up w/ cheap watches when they case them and try to sell them. Looking foreword to opinions from the forum………take care folks…………..b