Non-motoring > Valuing old jewellery Miscellaneous
Thread Author: smokie Replies: 43

 Valuing old jewellery - smokie
I decided that I don't need my grandfather's old pocket watch which has been stuffed in the back of a drawer for many many years. It is, I think, American and on the back says 14K assay so presumably gold. It doesn't work but is in quite nice nick.

So I had a root round to try to value it. Other watches are going for anything between £20 and £hundreds so I though do an auction on eBay starting at £25.

Within about 15 mins of submitting it I've had an offer of £50, subsequently upped to £75, both of which I've declined. He mentions it's "on a nice chain".

Without going to a lot of cost and faff is there some other method where I find what it ought to be selling for, as I don't want to let it go too cheap?

It's a Elgin Natl. Watch Co. and looks identical to this one tinyurl.com/yxcbpa28 except it has a chain.
Last edited by: VxFan on Fri 15 Jan 21 at 11:28
 Valuing old jewellry - Kevin
Usually scrap value of the gold content.
 Valuing old jewellry - zippy
>> Usually scrap value of the gold content.
>>

What happened to all those adverts we used to see re buying your unwanted gold?

Did the bottom drop out of the market or supplies dry up?
Last edited by: zippy on Wed 13 Jan 21 at 18:19
 Valuing old jewellry - Terry
14K gold scrap is currently ~$34 per gram. About 28 grams to the ounce.

Unless you need the cash urgently I would wait until post covid and go to a couple of decent local jewellers (not the chains) some of whom will also sell s/h jewellery. They will (a) know what they are looking at, and (b) provide a reasonable valuation.

If you don't know what you have, you may well end up selling for a pittance something worth £100s or maybe low £1000s.
 Valuing old jewellry - helicopter
Contact a couple of your local auction houses and they will give you a good idea of the value.You could then decide whether to sell with them, you can put a reserve price on if you do not want it to go cheaply although you will have to pay commission of around 15 to 20% plus VAT.

Jewellers will generally have to put 2/300% on top of what they pay you to cover overheads so you are unlikely to get a good price for the
watch or the gold

If you have a gold chain and you want the best price go to a bullion dealer , this is what the jewellers do.

I went all around Brighton lanes getting valuations on some gold jewellry left to my late wife by my sister. 4 Jewellers valued it at £600 to £ 700, one who was not interested in buying pointed me to the locsl bullion dealers ...to whom it was sold for £948.
 Valuing old jewellry - Zero
Is the chain gold? whats the weight.
 Valuing old jewellry - legacylad
You thinking of becoming ‘medallion man’ ? Whilst you’re at it get a matching gold chain for your newest mutt.
 Valuing old jewellry - Fullchat
Ive just had this horrible vision. '"Now then, now then"
 Valuing old jewellry - smokie
Dunno if the chain is gold, it's gold coloured though and it's 12g.

I just added a couple of pics to the ad, the last one shows it.

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/274646372060


I did deal with the local auction house some years back and it went OK but I was disappointed with the return. However it's a bit more difficult while we're in lockdown. I suppose I could withdraw the ad if I thought it were really worth much and do it later in the year.

I think our last proper little jewellers closed down some months back but there may be another - again, a bit hampered by lockdown.
Last edited by: smokie on Thu 14 Jan 21 at 12:53
 Valuing old jewellry - Zero
>> Dunno if the chain is gold, it's gold coloured though and it's 12g.
>>
>> I just added a couple of pics to the ad, the last one shows it.
>>
>> www.ebay.co.uk/itm/274646372060

The good thing there is there is no inscription or initials in the Cartouche
 Valuing old jewellry - No FM2R
Can you find a serial number anywhere inside?
 Valuing old jewellry - No FM2R
And is it newer than 1968?

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elgin_National_Watch_Company

home.elgintime.com/elgintime/SnumLookup
Last edited by: No FM2R on Thu 14 Jan 21 at 13:51
 Valuing old jewellry - smokie
Having rooted around those links I've taken it off eBay for now - easy as I had no bids.

I really don't think it's worth a fortune but I didn't realise that the case and innards were bought separately back in those days then taken to a jeweller for assembly. It is still in it's original box, from J W Benson @ Ludgate Hill.

I found a serial which indicates the movement was made in 1892 which would sort of fit.

The case is American and I found a very similar one in an old catalogue on a US watch forum, which would have cost $44.50 new. 14K gold. Middle row, third from left (No. 7070) mb.nawcc.org/attachments/1897_l-f_pg_320_16s_-_12s_hc_ps_gold_cases-jpg.470487/

So on the strength of that I will take it along to the auction house (or a jeweller) after lockdown.

I suppose if the chain and watch are scrap value only (which I suspect they would be) then it could come to a few hundred, it'd be a shame to miss out on that...

Thanks for the tips and links!
 Valuing old jewellry - R.P.
Below is a contact for a reliable jeweller - fixed one of my clocks and loved watches.


n.cumberlidge@hotmail.co.uk

Might give you a clue as to value etc,
 Valuing old jewellry - No FM2R
>>I will take it along to the auction house

No, I wouldn't do that.

Try this crowd;

jacobsthejewellers.com/ They're in Reading and have been for years. A family business.

They will do telephone, email and/or video consultancies.

Or, go to or telephone Waltons in Caversham. Chris, the owner, is a real craftsman, a proper jeweller. The shop is not open but both phone numbers and email address are on the site & Facebook.

www.waltonsjewellers.co.uk/
Last edited by: No FM2R on Thu 14 Jan 21 at 16:05
 Valuing old jewellry - smokie
Thanks - I suppose I ask them what they will give me for it, as surely they won't value it for free unless there might be something in it for them?

After all, I'm only looking for a ball park figure... £20, £100, £500, £1000.

I suppose if they offered the right amount they could have it.
 Valuing old jewellry - No FM2R
Ought to be worth a chat.

Is it worth valuing? Is it scrap? Are they interested in it? Who would they recommend who buys such things?

Even if they only give you a more-than figure which lets you know it's worth paying to value, if you see what I mean.
 Valuing old jewellry - smokie
One of the jewellers you recommended called me, useful chat but he wasn't interested. No contact from the other.

Anyway I stuck it on eBay for startling £500 and it just sold for £731. No bids until the last 30 seconds - it flashed up one bid at £500 then straight to £731 so I suspect software was bidding.

Maybe it was worth a lot more but I'm more than happy with that.
 Valuing old jewellry - No FM2R
Well done, great result.
 Valuing old jewellry - Zero

>> Anyway I stuck it on eBay for startling £500 and it just sold for £731.
>> No bids until the last 30 seconds - it flashed up one bid at £500
>> then straight to £731 so I suspect software was bidding.

Yes sounds like a lot of snipe s/w at work there. Indicates the pros were after it.
 Valuing old jewellry - Manatee
The thing about ebay is that if it's a good listing it will find an item's value. Very few bargains there these days so good for sellers.

 Valuing old jewellry - No FM2R
>> it will find an item's value.

Which can be a brutal truth.
 Valuing old jewellry - John Boy
I've only just spotted this topic, which is interesting because I have a similar Elgin watch. It was given to me after the funeral of the last remaining male, apart from me, on my father's side of the family. It came with a fascinating story, which triggered research into my family history. It belonged to one of my grandfather's brothers and he was born in Norfolk in about 1874.

The 1891 census recorded him as an apprentice blacksmith, also in Norfolk.

By 1901 he was in East London recorded as a farrier. The story, however, said he was a cab driver there, who obtained work as a horseman with the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show and subsequently went to the States with them.

In 1911 the census showed him as a "shoeing and general smith" in Norfolk.

Whether he ever went to the States is a moot point. The story said he sent the watch from there as a present for a relative, but that seems doubtful, because the chain has a tag with his initials on it. Another version of the story is that he remained there and set up one of the first steam laundries, but that must be complete rubbish. So, both are almost certainly c and b stories. Doing the family tree was interesting, although, like many people, I regret not questioning my parents more about my ancestors before it was too late.

Anyway, my daughters are not interested, so I'm going to follow Smokie's lead and put it on eBay. It's in good condition, the case is pretty much identical, the inside dates it as 1989, it works, albeit keeping poor time, and the 20g chain is different,
 Valuing old jewellry - No FM2R
>> the inside dates it as 1989,

19?
 Valuing old jewellry - John Boy
Sorry, yes, it's 1889 of course.
 Valuing old jewellry - smokie
here's how I advertised it. Starting price £500, no offers.

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/274649366220

Good luck!!!
Last edited by: smokie on Tue 26 Jan 21 at 21:44
 Valuing old jewellry - No FM2R
I get tormented wondering what they would have paid for it.

I asked once, after the guy had received the item so that he wasn't worried I might back out. He told me he would have paid about 20% more if pushed and I was ok with that.

Not a watch though, a book.
 Valuing old jewellry - John Boy
Thank you so much, Smokie. The postage bit was worrying me, so it was good to see the NB at the bottom of your advert. I'd be curious to know what you ultimately used.
If you can trust LIDL kitchen scales, mine weighs 89g without the chain. I can see now that it works for a while if you give it a little shake, but it doesn't keep going. I haven't touched it for well over a year. I just need a bit of sunshine to get some good photos.
 Valuing old jewellry - smokie
I'm sending it Post Office pre 13:00 next day signed for. Insures up to £500 - if it goes missing I'll lose some but I was too lazy to look for an alternative. I think it'l be less than a tenner.

eBay fees are 10% which feels a lot but I mustn't grumble!!

I do wonder what it might have gone for, I suspect maybe a few hundred more but I'll never know. I ad in mind giving the daughters £100 each, which met with approval, then maybe a shiny new NAS and a few more bits of unnecessary home automation carp from my buddies in China but apparently the garden will need some new plants in a month or so...

Ah well, if and when she sells her heirlooms maybe I'll get to say where the bunce goes... :-)
 Valuing old jewellry - Zero
if she wants new plants, she can sell her e***** domain.
 Valuing old jewellry - smokie
Good Point!!! :-)
 Valuing old jewellry - John Boy
>> I'm sending it Post Office pre 13:00 next day signed for. Insures up to £500 - if it goes missing I'll lose some but I was too lazy to look for an alternative. I think it'l be less than a tenner.
>>
Thanks, Smokie. That's the bit that always bothers me about eBay.
 Valuing old jewellry - Crankcase
I remember selling a book I bought for about a tenner on eBay, and getting a couple of hundred for it. When insuring it at the Post Office, it was made pretty clear if it got lost then they would cover the tenner I paid, not the two hundred I sold it for.

I don't think that's relevant to the jewellery, just to how I was told PO insurance works, and it wasn't what I naively thought.

 Valuing old jewellry - smokie
I did wonder how they'd ever know what's inside the parcel I drop to the Post Office., and what it's value was. Could all be a slightly elaborate insurance scam... (it isn't!!!)

On another related note I paid for DHL next day on a heavy canteen of cutlery I sold through eBay ( - we're clearing out some old stuff!!). Tracking shows the date slipping further into the future. so I contacted DHL. Seems the shop where I dropped it aren't able to find it. It was big enough, can't have just slipped behind something... I must say the lady in the (jn)convenience store drop-off was spectacularly and unnecessarily offhand when I went in...

So I'm just off out to visit them and drop the watch at the PO.


It's exactly all this faff around selling and shipping stuff which makes me not like eBay

 Valuing old jewellry - Crankcase
As to the PO knowing the contents and value, they ask, or always did for me.

A couple of years ago the PO seemed to move from "there's a list of prohibited items on the wall, tell me your parcel doesn't contain anything on that list" to "tell me the contents of your parcel, whatever it is, and I'll decide for you whether I'm going to post it".

Some people were a bit unhappy about that, for whatever reason.

Oh, here's the bit about compo from the PO terms and conditions, my italics:

“actual loss” - Where an item is lost or damaged beyond repair then it is the amount it cost the customer to acquire, purchase or manufacture the item subject to adjustment to take account of condition, age and depreciation. Where an item is damaged it is the cost of repair. No additional payment will be made for the reduced value of the repaired item.
Last edited by: Crankcase on Wed 27 Jan 21 at 11:53
 Valuing old jewellry - bathtub tom
A magazine I sent failed to arrive, so I claimed (I had proof of purchase). I was aked to prove its value and I was able to send a facsimile of the front cover clearly showing £5. I was refunded the £5, but can't remember ifI also got the postage cost.
It was actually worth pennies to me, but hey-ho.
 Valuing old jewellry - Zero
>>Tracking shows
>> the date slipping further into the future. so I contacted DHL. Seems the shop where
>> I dropped it aren't able to find it. It was big enough, can't have just
>> slipped behind something... I must say the lady in the (jn)convenience store drop-off was spectacularly
>> and unnecessarily offhand when I went in...

"Where my e***** parcel" as your initial greeting probably didnt help.
 Valuing old jewellry - Fullchat
I sold a crash helmet on Ebay which arrived with a broken plastic component.
They wriggled and squirmed and made things as difficult as possible. Kept banging on about terms and conditions in relation to packaging.
Whilst I had well wrapped it in anticipation of manual handling and a journey along conveyor belts I was not to know the extent to which the parcel could be abused and therefore could not cater for that. Nor was my attention drawn to the T&Cs when I presented the parcel at the PO and selected my preferred choices.
Got there in the end.
 Valuing old jewellry - John Boy
>> It's exactly all this faff around selling and shipping stuff which makes me not like eBay
>>
Me too, which is why I usually make my items Collection Only. Unfortunately, that really limits the range of buyers you're likely to attract.
 Valuing old jewellry - smokie
Just took it to the PO. Paid for next day pre 13:00 then the bloke said it might not get there in the morning but it'll def be there tomorrow. So why charge me for a service you aren't going to provide? I let it go.

I have also sold a canteen of cutlery - quite large and heavy, as you might imagine. Booked next day DHL delivery and dropped it at the local pick up (grocers shop) and they seem to have lost it. They think the Collect+ man may have taken it. All this reminds me why I dislike selling on eBay so much - it always feels like a lot of effort often for not much return.

Last edited by: smokie on Wed 27 Jan 21 at 13:30
 Valuing old jewellry - Crankcase

>> So why charge me for a service you aren't going to provide? I let it
>> go.

Pre 13:00 service carries "Guaranteed delivery next day by 1pm or your money back".

 Valuing old jewellry - CGNorwich

>> Pre 13:00 service carries "Guaranteed delivery next day by 1pm or your money back".
>>
The counter clerk was correct. Due to COVID terms have been amended.

“For items posted from Thursday 24 December 2020 onwards, our guaranteed delivery for Special Delivery Guaranteed by 9am the next working day will be by 11.00am the next working day*
Our guaranteed delivery for Special Delivery Guaranteed by 1pm the next working day will be by 4.00pm the next working day*.
This includes items where a Saturday guarantee has been purchased.”

Royal Mail Website
 Valuing old jewellry - Crankcase
Does the asterisk lead to 1 point text reading "This guarantee is not a guarantee"?

I'm reminded of the Bonzo's "Shirt" track:

Good morning. Could I have this shirt cleaned "express," please?
Yes, that'll be three weeks, dearie
Three weeks? But the sign outside says 59-minute cleaners!
Yes, that's just the name of the shop, luv. We take three weeks to do a shirt
Last edited by: Crankcase on Wed 27 Jan 21 at 14:59
 Valuing old jewellry - R.P.
Sold a ton of stuff on E-Bay over the summer, Bike gear I dragged around for years and at least two house moves and some Ironstone china stuff that has been in two attics over the last 12 years or so. I made far more money than I expected - one outstanding sale was a rather camp Triumph leather bike jacket, made double what I paid for it in a clearance sale. All rather enjoyable.
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