Great-Grandma's Pendant Watch

[talesofthesevenseas]

The Carl Bucherer watch topic has inspired me to take my great-grandmother's pendant watch in to see what it would take to get it running again.
My great-grandma was born in 1866, she was married in 1899 and died in 1922. The watch has her married initials, E.L.T., so it dates to sometime between 1899 and 1922. It is unmarked on the exterior, but it appears to be gold. The diameter of the watch is 1" across, not counting the winding knob and suspension rings. It appears to open from the front crystal and the back, but I do not want to attempt it, and will leave that to the watch repair guy. I'll let you know what, is found inside.

Can anyone tell me what kind of insurance value this would have, or should we wait until the watch repair guy has his say?

[railman44]

Very interesting sturrup bow.  This was adopted by the "Ball" railroad watch company and was their trademark for many years.  The face or dial shows no maker which is worrysome for value purposes.  It would be interesting to see the movement and who made it.  Your great grandmother may have bought a cheap movement and then splurged on a case from the jeweler.  Anyway, it's a nice heirloom from the distant past.

[talesofthesevenseas]

That wouldn't surprise me. They were very practical, thrifty New Englanders! I'll post some additional info when I get a look inside.

[KC]

What a treasure!  It will be fun to find out what the watchmaker says.

I just love having the things that were in our families from way back.

When you sit and look at the few items that are left to represent someone's entire life......it's very daunting....and you appreciate them more. (At least I do.)  They tell you about that person and a few of the things that they found dear. (jewelry, family bibles, dinnerware, clothing, tools, etc.)  Makes me wonder what are the items that will exist about me that will get passed along....(that is a very scary thought) 

[talesofthesevenseas]

I feel exactly the same KC. Recently, in talking to my son, I've come to realize that he's never going to be able to keep straight which things I have that are treasured family hierlooms, and which things I picked up on Ebay. So with the help of this forum, I've started cataloging everything, along with estimated current insurance values. I marked things "This is never to leave the family" and included the line of descent of the family members it was handed down through.

Over the years I've become the caretaker of a lot of family history. So it's my job to make sure it's recorded and passed on. If my son has no interested children, I'll pass things along to cousins who are interested. My grandparents were firm believers that things should go to the people who are interested in them, not necessarily the kid who is "next in line". I was the kid who was always asking questions about family history and spending my allowance in antique stores! 

[railman44]

An "heirloom" can start with you.  You pass it down to your children and they pass it to theirs and walla, a bonifide heirloom.  If you really like an object, no matter where it was bought or came from, mark it to never leave the family.  My .02 pesos.

[regularjoe2]

Nice little watch .

In regards to the heirs in the future ;

I hope , many years in the future , one of my sons posts to an antique forum a message that might go something like -

"Hi ...I'm new to the forum & I got something from my dads estate that we don't know what is .
Dad had all kinds of real old wierd stuff and I got these .
They are sort of foot-shaped & crumbling a little , but I can see some printing that says 'Dr. Scholl' or something like that ... I think these were made for my dad by a doctor friend of his !

Does anybody know what they are & do you think a museum would buy them ?

Click on mind-link to experience this item . "

[talesofthesevenseas]

LOL RegularJoe!

Railman, I agree, there are lots of things that I've aquired that I think he will save that will become the "artifacts" of my life. Like I don't see him ever selling off my carousel horse, especially since both my son and I rode that same carousel as children. But I want to make sure he has a list of the things that have family history so that he doesn't actually let something important go, especially during the difficult process of losing a parent. I figure I should make that time as easy on him as I can. Besides, if he sold off the wrong stuff, I might have to come back and haunt him or something!

[ironlord1963]

Dr. Scholls is worth something?  Wow I got a pair on right now,  How much you think I can get for it.     Regular joe you crack me up.  Nice watch tales, and I would have to say you have lots of really cool stuff.  I have lots of cheap stuff and I still log and track everything but that is just because I'm a nut  .