'Antiques Roadshow' guest stunned after being told grandpa's long-forgotten watch is worth $25,000
A guest on the "Antiques Roadshow" was left speechless after getting a five-figure appraisal for her grandfather's watch that she accidentally found in her mother's deposit box. The owner of the Patek Philippe watch did know that the item could be valuable, as she brought it to the show's expert, Michael Fossner. However, after Fossner delivered a staggering $25,000 appraisal for the watch, she could only say, "excellent".
In the episode, the guest shared the "family lore" of who her grandfather was before sharing the story of the watch. "According to family lore, he opened a drinks booth at the Chicago World's Fair and made all his money. He moved to Los Angeles in the late 1890s and became an oil and land guy," she shared with Fossner. "We recently just found it in my mom's safety deposit box," she added.
Looking at the item, the expert noted that it was a pendant pocket watch from the famed luxury watchmaker. "Patek Philippe has origins in 1839, Switzerland," he said before coming to the watch. "This particular watch is made out of gold with enamel and diamonds as well. It has a matching chain also with enamel and diamonds," he explained to the guest.
Fossner further noted that the enamel motif on the watch was an example of the maker's "beautiful artwork", which adds a lot of value to it. He then dated the watch all the way back to 1910. "When you open it up, you can see that there is a retailer from Los Angeles marked inside as Nordlinger and Sons. They were known for selling these types of enamel Patek Philippe pocket watches," the expert added.
Before delivering the appraisal, Fossner told the guest that the watch and the items along with it fall in place with the history, and it all adds up to make the item a collectible watch. "Wrist watches are all the rage. Still, sometimes something very special comes along," he told the guest. Earlier, a similar pendant watch from Patek Phillpe was appraised for over $250,000 on the show, and it went on to fetch over $1 million at auction.
Coming to the timepiece on the table, Fossner noted that collectors and jewellers would still pay a handsome amount for it. "If you were to walk into a jeweler or a watch shop today, you'd be expected to pay $20,000 to $25,000 for this watch at retail," he said to the guest. Hearing the number, the guest seemed to be shocked as she could barely say a word.
In the end, all she could say was "Excellent! Good to know" while recovering from the shock, smiling.
You can watch the appraisal and reaction in the video here.
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