Some watches have a real market. Vintage and modern pieces from Rolex, Omega, Heuer, Longines, Cartier and Jaeger-LeCoultre sell to collectors who check every detail. Older Hamilton, Bulova, Seiko and Gruen watches have a steady following, and American pocket watches by Elgin, Waltham, Hamilton and Illinois sell well, especially railroad-grade movements.
Gold cases have a floor. A pocket watch or wristwatch in a solid gold case marked 14K or 18K is worth at least its gold, which we weigh into the price. Cases marked gold-filled or rolled gold are a thin layer over base metal and carry no such floor.
Fashion watches are the opposite. Brands sold new at department-store prices, quartz watches from the last few decades and most novelty watches sell for very little on their own. We group them into lots: a Skagen and an Armitron we are selling are listed together because neither would justify a listing alone.
Copies are common, and buyers know it. We photograph the dial, case, clasp, caseback and any numbers we can see, and describe exactly what is there. We do not authenticate watches. For a valuable piece we recommend authentication or a service history from a qualified watchmaker before it is sold, because it removes the buyer's main doubt and usually raises the price.
Watches sell on eBay and through our own shop, shipped to buyers across the country. Higher-value pieces can be offered by inquiry, so a serious buyer asks before they buy.
Before you sell a watch.
Do not polish the case: buffing rounds off the sharp edges and bevels collectors pay for. Do not open the caseback or try to set a stopped mechanical watch by force. Find the box, papers, extra bracelet links, warranty card and service receipts if they exist; with a good watch they can matter as much as the condition.
What the family receives.
- ✓A free walkthrough, or a first look from photos of the dial, case, clasp and caseback
- ✓A written quote before any work starts
- ✓Each watch identified by maker and the numbers we can see, never by its look alone
- ✓Gold cases weighed into the price; fashion watches grouped into lots
- ✓A recommendation when authentication or a watchmaker's service would pay for itself
- ✓Listings on eBay and our own shop, packed and shipped for you
- ✓Condition described from what is visible, with no running claim you have not made
Why VaultXL.
Numbers before names
We identify a watch from its reference and serial numbers and its marks, not from what it looks like across the room.
No polishing, ever
We photograph a case as it is. Polishing a collectible case takes value away and cannot be undone.
Honest about copies
We describe what is there and say when a watch should be authenticated first. We never call one genuine on our own say-so.
The small ones go in lots
Fashion watches sell together, so they do not eat a listing each for very little return.
Where we serve.
Charlotte · Myers Park · Eastover · SouthPark · Foxcroft · Dilworth · Elizabeth · Cotswold · Ballantyne · Huntersville · Cornelius · Davidson · Matthews · Mint Hill · Waxhaw · Fort Mill · Rock Hill
Start with a walkthrough.
A free walkthrough in your home, then a written quote before any work starts.
Frequently asked.
It depends mostly on the maker and the numbers on the case. Vintage Rolex, Omega, Heuer and similar watches, gold-cased watches and good American pocket watches usually are. Recent quartz and fashion watches usually sell for little and go in lots.
Not before talking to us. A service can help a valuable mechanical watch, but it costs money and is not always recovered. A battery is cheap, but we still describe the watch from what is visible rather than claim it works.
No, we do not authenticate watches. We photograph and describe the marks and numbers, and for a valuable piece we recommend authentication by a qualified watchmaker or the maker's service before it is sold.
No, but they help. For many collectible watches a full set with box, papers and receipt sells for noticeably more, so look for them before the walkthrough.
Every project is quoted in writing after a free walkthrough: a non-refundable setup fee set in your quote, and 15% of what sells after marketplace fees. You keep 85%.
