Patek Philippe Watch with Original Buckle & Box, ca. 1935
GUEST: I brought in a watch. It's, uh, made by the Patek Philippe Company. And I inherited this watch from my dad. And his whole life, he loved clocks, and timepieces and watches. And he had many wonderful watches, but this was his pride and joy.
APPRAISER: Wonderful. Y-you're right, it's Patek Philippe, which is probably the finest company in the world. They're one of the older watch companies from the 1800s. They still manufacture today. In these days, in the 1930s and '40s, they did very small production of watches.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: And when I opened it up and looked at the movement, I can date the watch probably from the late 1930s.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: Late 1930s manufactured. With a nice original, uh, dial, kind of a pink color undertone with the original Patek Philippe box. And also an unusual Patek Philippe buckle. Most of the time, these don't come with the watch; somehow they get misplaced. And it is marked PPC, Patek Philippe Company. All these things add value and quality to this. Your, your dad did a great job of keeping this watch and keeping it all original.
GUEST: What, what would you say about the band? You think it's original? You think it's replaced?
APPRAISER: It's probably been replaced, I would guess.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: It really is a l-- it should be a little narrower for the buckle and stuff. It really doesn't fit the buckle super great.
GUEST: Okay.
APPRAISER: That's probably why they get replaced, because you can't find the leather straps to fit the buckles, so they've changed the buckles. This one actually kept the original buckle, which is wonderful.
GUEST: Good. Yes.
APPRAISER: It adds a lot of value-- collectors love things, little increments like that are fabulous. No idea what he paid for it originally?
GUEST: The number that seems that I remember that he would, he would mention from maybe from time to time, and again, this is probably early '40s when he got it, I want to say $400.
APPRAISER: Your father probably was young. He had to have been in what, his 20s or 30s when he did this?
GUEST: Mid-20s, right. Right.
APPRAISER: Yeah. Which was a lot of money for someone in those days.
GUEST: Yes.
APPRAISER: Probably on a retail level, in a really nice, fine store, probably around $6,500. $6,000 to $7,000, somewhere in that price point.
GUEST: Wow.
APPRAISER: Yep, yeah. Very collectible, rare watch.
GUEST: Thank-thank you, wow.
APPRAISER: Yep.
GUEST: I was thinking maybe $3,000, $4,000. I do wear the watch occasionally. I will pick a, a special event. So it doesn't just sit in the box all the time.
APPRAISER: That's good.
GUEST: It is an heirloom, and it will be going to my son someday.
$6,000 - $7,000 Retail
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Understanding Our Appraisals
Executive producer Marsha Bemko shares her tips for getting the most out of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.
Value can change: The value of an item is dependent upon many things, including the condition of the object itself, trends in the market for that kind of object, and the location where the item will be sold. These are just some of the reasons why the answer to the question "What's it worth?" is so often "It depends."
Note the date: Take note of the date the appraisal was recorded. This information appears in the upper left corner of the page, with the label "Appraised On." Values change over time according to market forces, so the current value of the item could be higher, lower, or the same as when our expert first appraised it.
Context is key: Listen carefully. Most of our experts will give appraisal values in context. For example, you'll often hear them say what an item is worth "at auction," or "retail," or "for insurance purposes" (replacement value). Retail prices are different from wholesale prices. Often an auctioneer will talk about what she knows best: the auction market. A shop owner will usually talk about what he knows best: the retail price he'd place on the object in his shop. And though there are no hard and fast rules, an object's auction price can often be half its retail value; yet for other objects, an auction price could be higher than retail. As a rule, however, retail and insurance/replacement values are about the same.
Verbal approximations: The values given by the experts on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW are considered "verbal approximations of value." Technically, an "appraisal" is a legal document, generally for insurance purposes, written by a qualified expert and paid for by the owner of the item. An appraisal usually involves an extensive amount of research to establish authenticity, provenance, composition, method of construction, and other important attributes of a particular object.
Opinion of value: As with all appraisals, the verbal approximations of value given at ROADSHOW events are our experts' opinions formed from their knowledge of antiques and collectibles, market trends, and other factors. Although our valuations are based on research and experience, opinions can, and sometimes do, vary among experts.
Appraiser affiliations: Finally, the affiliation of the appraiser may have changed since the appraisal was recorded. To see current contact information for an appraiser in the ROADSHOW Archive, click on the link below the appraiser's picture. Our Appraiser Index also contains a complete list of active ROADSHOW appraisers and their contact details and biographies.
