# A question about this pocket watch?



## cmiller92

http://www.ebay.com/itm/14K-SCRAP-G...512?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cdcdc95a8

If the watch is solid 14K why does it need to be guaranteed 25 years? If it is solid there should be no brassing to worry about. :?:


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## galenrog

I would assume that the 25 year warranty imprinted on the case is descriptive of the clockwork, and possibly the latch, not the purity of the gold.


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## glondor

I would err on the side of caution and consider it gold filled. The 25 year warranty and the fact the gold "disappeared" with 18k test acid speaks volumes to me. My guess is it is a good buy @ $30 bucks.


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## Dan Dement

Usually when a Watch case says 14kt and 25 years , it's a Heavy Rolled Gold plate and not 14kt solid. By today's standards, it would say Rolled Gold Plate guaranteed for 25 years. Buyer Beware!

Dan


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## macfixer01

Funny, I came here to post about this same auction then saw this thread already started. I sent the seller an email and informed him it was only gold filled and to look up Guaranteed 25 years on Google if he wanted proof. His only response was "ok", and It appears he has no intention of correcting his description so he must be considered to be a scammer. He may have tested it as 14k but he's only testing the surface and assuming it's solid.

Pocket watches and the cases were quite often made by two different companies and only assembled after the buyer selected what case and watch mechanism he wanted. The Guaranteed 25 Years refers to the case only and indicates how long one could expect the surface gold not to wear through to the brass during normal usage and handling.


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## cmiller92

Im glad that we have informed people on this forum that look out for each other, good looking out people! 8)


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## man114

Without a doubt it is only gold filled. 25 year cases are fairly heavily plated, you'd have to scratch pretty deep.


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## Ian_B

A little late to the party but if I see any sort of 10 year 20 year 25 year guarantee on a pocket watch the only way I would buy it would be for gold filled prices. I have a scan from a watch and pocket watch price guide book that shows quite a number of gold filled hallmarks on one page. I will upload it tomorrow and post the picture to the forums and post a link here. I have also seen (and still own regrettably) a pocket watch where the inner cover over the mechanism is stamped 14k but the outer case is gold filled. It was a $250 mistake but it was a valuable lesson I learnt quickly and in the long run a $250 mistake is fairly cheap considering.


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## edsikes

Ian_B said:


> A little late to the party but if I see any sort of 10 year 20 year 25 year guarantee on a pocket watch the only way I would buy it would be for gold filled prices. I have a scan from a watch and pocket watch price guide book that shows quite a number of gold filled hallmarks on one page. I will upload it tomorrow and post the picture to the forums and post a link here. I have also seen (and still own regrettably) a pocket watch where the inner cover over the mechanism is stamped 14k but the outer case is gold filled. It was a $250 mistake but it was a valuable lesson I learnt quickly and in the long run a $250 mistake is fairly cheap considering.





hey ian did you ever upload the copy of the gold filled pocket watch hallmarks? very interested in that! thanks!


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## patnor1011

And the watch is gone, sent to new happy (and most likely stupid) owner for 510$.
Plus shipping.


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## edsikes

wow someone was probably quite the unhappy camper when they figured out that it was gold filled... because any case marked with a year guarantee is gold filled. 14k cases generally stated 14k ASSAYED on the inside of the case itself. ouch.... what an expensive lesson to learn.


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## man114

edsikes said:


> wow someone was probably quite the unhappy camper when they figured out that it was gold filled... because any case marked with a year guarantee is gold filled. 14k cases generally stated 14k ASSAYED on the inside of the case itself. ouch.... what an expensive lesson to learn.



Some early cases will say "Guaranteed Solid Gold" or "Warranted" but are pretty easy to distinguish most of the time from known hallmarks. Of course you'll get an odd custom one from time to time, I have a non hall marked case that was made in PA in the 1870s that is 6oz of sterling silver.


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