waltham standard 19 jewel railroad pocket watch on ebay with starting price of $2,000

Someone else shared the following site & I happened to still have it copied to research my own pocketwatch when I saw your request...so see http://www.nawcc-info.org & & also search other Waltham appraisals, here.

Low production high grade watch that is very desirable to both Waltham collectors and to railroad watch collectors. How are you planning to sell it ... auction or do you have a price in mind? Thanks!

Not something that's easy to put a figure on since they rarely come to market. There's a pocketwatch price guide by Gilbert/Shugart that you can find at Barnes & Noble and other bookstores that lists your watch. I wouldn't count on the price it lists being what you could realistically sell for, but it will give you a start. Have you considered eBay for the sale? It draws a worldwide audience and will bring serious collectors into competition for your watch.

I would stay VERY far away from pawn shops or general antique dealers. You have a rare and desirable piece here and will get the best price from a collector that knows exactly what it is and that wants it. But from a general dealer that isn't specifically familiar with it I wouldn't expect anymore than a SMALL fraction of what you'd get from the right set of buyers. If you haven't used eBay yet then take some time and check it out. I'd say you would want to be listing in the Pocket Watch subcategory of "Jewelry & Watches" since a listing in the wrong category would cut your visibility and that you would also want keywords of "Waltham", "Standard", "Model 1892", and "21 Jewels" in your title. I'll add that I am a pocketwatch collector with 20 years experience, and if you listed the watch to eBay I would probably plan to be a bidder at a pretty strong price but I wouldn't be surprised to be beaten by someone with a higher interest.

Some more info on your watch ... - The serial number dates it to about 1900. The "1892" is the model type of the 18 size movement and this number comes from the first Waltham of this model design being made in 1892. Waltham was the earliest major American watch maker and ended up as the second largest production of jeweled pocketwatches (behind only Elgin) and made around 35 million watches between roughly 1850 and 1950. - The case looks to be gold-filled. This is a sandwich type construction of gold over brass and has a heavier layer than gold-plated, but a very small fraction of the amount of gold in a 14K or 18K solid case. The markings inside the lids of the case will identify it and probably read something like "Warranted 20 Years" which refers to the wear guarantee on the gold-filled finish and then a maker name. - This is the only movement made by Waltham with a locomotive engraved on the back plate. - It is nice if your watch is in running order and this does help the value, but it is a desirable enough watch that even if it isn't it would still do very well on eBay.