[fran426ft]

I was out hiking with my girlfriend yesterday when I spotted something shiny sticking out of the mud. I picked it up to discover it was a watch without a strap. It looked fairly old but I couldn't make out what brand of watch it was as it was full of condensation and water. I wound it slightly only to hear it start ticking to my amazement. With nobody around for miles I put it in my pocket and we continued on our hike. When I got home that evening I opened it to allow it to dry out and discovered it was a Patek Philippe & Co watch. There was a good bit of rust in it. The glass is fairly scratched and the face has what look to be mold or mildew marks on it. I've tried to identify the watch online but haven't seen anything that is identical although some very similar looking movements.

Can anyone identify this watch? How old it is?

Would it be worth getting this watch repaired/restored by Patek? I imagine that would cost a significant amount given its condition and has now lost a lot of value.

The movement number is 924xxx and the case number is 633xxx. I'd also love to know what all the different hallmarks represent. The inside of the back cover also has lots of different number lightly engraved into it.

I've included a few photos below .......
Thanks for any input you can give.

Regards,
Fran426ft


Watch-12.jpg by fran426ft, on Flickr


Watch-11.jpg by fran426ft, on Flickr


Watch-10.jpg by fran426ft, on Flickr


Watch-9.jpg by fran426ft, on Flickr


Watch-7.jpg by fran426ft, on Flickr


Watch-9.jpg by fran426ft, on Flickr

 

[watch-guy.com]

Well done there.

You really have found a real treasure. This is a lovely PP scroll lugs from the 50's. It is definitely worth fixing . It may be neccessary to get a new dial- it is arare variant with numerals.Do not do any thing to the dial until you have new crystal as the dial may be in better condition than it looks. Original is better. ( and I would get Patek to do this). The reference no is 1491.

The only down side to your story is the oerson who lost it

Good luck

Julian

 

[fran426ft]

Thanks very much.

Yeah feel sorry for the person who lost it but wouldn't have a clue as to how to track them down.

If I send it to PP will they advise me on what needs repairing and recommendations and my options or should I provide them with instructions?

 

[fran426ft]

Armed with the reference number I did a Google image search for that model and came across THIS.

It's almost identical apart from the Tiffany & Co. on dial.

 

[JesseF]

Hey guys, maybe you can help me out. My grandfather gave me this Bulova Pocket Watch, I think it is a W28 series, but I have been unable to find any information regarding it, or if that is really what it is. Any information you guys can provide me with is greatly appreciated. Also, if anyone can tell me if the chain is original, much obliged.
-Jesse
P.S. Sorry for the terrible images!

 

[WatchFan1]

Jesse, your post does not belong to this thread or this forum. Please repost it in our American Vintage Watch forum.


_______________________
Sent from my mobile device using Tapatalk.
Excuse my brevity and potential typos.

 

[watch-guy.com]

Hi

I would most certainly try and keep the dial original
PP wil give you recommendations but will give you a quote for each procedure first. I think you can ask them for only the items you desire - but I am not sure as I have never used their services.
It will be expensive but worth it

Here is my ref 1491. It has a different movement with a centre seconds hand

 

[Scott D]

Thanks very much.

Yeah feel sorry for the person who lost it but wouldn't have a clue as to how to track them down.

The etched numbers in the case-back look to be servicing dates. If it was serviced by Patek, they may be able to put you in touch with the owner. It's a great find, and I'm not saying go thru a bunch of work to track down the owner, but IMO I'd 1) send an email to Patek Philippe telling the story and see if anyone has reported the watch lost and 2) contact the local police to see if anyone logged a lost item report. If so, that'll help get it to the owner. If not, you've done what you can and can look to getting it restored. But given that could be a serious heirloom to someone, I'd personally make those 2 small efforts to see if it can be reunited with it's owner. And while not a motivation in itself, if this is a significant heirloom to them you could be looking at a nice reward from them for it.

 

[fran426ft]

The etched numbers in the case-back look to be servicing dates.

Thought some of them might be dates but most of them just seem to be random numbers and some letters.

If it was serviced by Patek, they may be able to put you in touch with the owner. It's a great find, and I'm not saying go thru a bunch of work to track down the owner, but IMO I'd 1) send an email to Patek Philippe telling the story and see if anyone has reported the watch lost and 2) contact the local police to see if anyone logged a lost item report. If so, that'll help get it to the owner. If not, you've done what you can and can look to getting it restored. But given that could be a serious heirloom to someone, I'd personally make those 2 small efforts to see if it can be reunited with it's owner. And while not a motivation in itself, if this is a significant heirloom to them you could be looking at a nice reward from them for it.

I think you are right Scott. Before I consider getting an estimate or spending money repairing this I think I need to make sure my conscience is clear.

I just sent an email to PP to see if they have any recent records or can help put me in contact with the rightful owner.

Had I known what I had found at the time I probably would have gone to a local police station but it wasn't until I got home which is a few hours drive from where I found it and dried it out that I realised what I had found. I don't know that area that well but will try find contact details for the nearest police station to see if anyone reported it lost.

I'll update people here if I do find an owner or if I do send it to PP for an estimate for repair.

 

[WatchFan1]

Great story. Looking forward to hearing the rest!


_______________________
Sent from my mobile device using Tapatalk.
Excuse my brevity and potential typos.

 

[fran426ft]

I contacted the nearest Police Station in the area and they have no record of someone reporting this watch lost. I left my details with them in case someone does contact them however I would imagine if they hadn't been contacted by now they possibly won't be. Now just to wait and see if PP can put me in contact with the owner and then I can at least say I tried.

 

[Scott D]

I contacted the nearest Police Station in the area and they have no record of someone reporting this watch lost. I left my details with them in case someone does contact them however I would imagine if they hadn't been contacted by now they possibly won't be. Now just to wait and see if PP can put me in contact with the owner and then I can at least say I tried.

:thumbup1: That's all you can do.

If Patek replies back that they have no record then I'd follow up with their recommendations of restorations for the watch. Just send the watch to them with a note saying you'd like an estimate on what is required, as well as what they recommend. The required work would be critical stuff, like the movement cleaning & overhaul, removal of any tarnish in the case, etc. Recommended work would be the 'optional' work, like dial restoration or hand replacement (assuming they're not damaged). For these as Julian said I'd do the absolute minimums. Maybe clean the dial but don't restore it, keep original hands, etc. Do the least work possible to maintain the watch as original as possible.

Be prepared to wait. Some people have reported up to 1 year for restorations. But remember Patek is not an assembly line with people just sitting around to fix something. They're artists and masters of bringing the watch back to it's intended glory. Such quality takes time and while difficult to wait, I'm sure the results will make it worth it. What's a year wait 10 or 20 years from now when you're still enjoying the watch.

I'm looking forward to seeing how this project progresses.....

 

[WatchFan1]

Hello fran426ft,

For your own protection I took the liberty and edited your original post.
I edited the case and movement number and I also deleted the link to your Flickr gallery,
where the pictures with full numbers could be seen. I strongly suggest that you remove
those pictures (showing full numbers) from there as well.

If full numbers were shown it would be too easy for someone to claim this watch as 'theirs'.
You are doing the right thing by contacting police and Patek but we do not want some fraud
claiming the watch as theirs by simply providing the correct numbers they would get here.


(Thank you, Julian (watch-guy.com) for bringing this to my attention.)

 

[fran426ft]

Thanks WatchFan1 and watch-guy.com. Hadn't considered that. I've edited all the photos to blur the numbers now.

If someone was trying to claim it I would expect them to tell me more than could have been gleaned from just this thread. I would expect them to at least be able to give me the approximate area in which I found it which I haven't revealed to anyone except the police. Hopefully that is enough to keep me covered.

 

[oldcrony]

GOOD THINKING WatchFan1! You really think someone would try that? (HA!) :sad::sad::sad:

 

[WatchFan1]

It was actually Julian's idea.
As the OP said above......more info would be needed (i.e approximate location etc.),
but what make it easy for the bad guys? Better be safe than sorry and it's better
those full numbers are not available.

 

[watch-guy.com]

It was my cynical, non trusting side that made me think of it.

Much more info would be needed before the OP handed over the watch , I would imagine.

It would be interesting to see if PP has the owners details on file. I for one have given them all my watch details

Julian

 

[fran426ft]

Update

Ok so I thought I'd drag up this old thread to give an update to people and get some advice.

After contacting the police and Patek Philippe and reporting the watch as found nobody came forward to claim it. Patek Philippe would not actively try to reunite the watch with an owner but logged it in their lost watches database. So if anyone ever loses a watch it might be worthwhile to report it to them and check in with them every so often.

After a year and a day as the original owner did not come forward I have a claim to the watch so I had it returned to Patek Philippe for an estimate to repair through one of their authorised retailers. After another few months of waiting I've finally received the quotation and now have some decisions to make. This is where I would appreciate some input from you guys.

The following is the text from the quote received from the authorised retailer.

Product restoration: €2655
This includes the disassembly and examination of all components, replacement, cleaning, hand finishing and adjustment of basic movement parts as necessary, crown, lubrication and regulation.
Dial restoration: €1745
This is a painstaking process of removing each individual layer of fired glaze, the meticulous refinishing of the dial to retain as many of its original detail, followed by the re-glazing of the dial by applying individual layers of lacquer then firing and polishing each individual layer.
Laser work: €500
With wear and damage the original specifications of the watch case have suffered from their life of wear, Patek Philippe offer the unique ability to laser correct and repair the watch case, lugs and horns as close to the watch's original splendour.
Crocodile strap: €435
To supply and fit a genuine crocodile leather strap in keeping with the watch's original aesthetic
18k Yellow gold buckle: €725
To supply and fit an appropriate Patek Philippe genuine buckle.
Archive extract: €195
Patek Philippe keeps a written record of every single watch they have produced since their inception in 1839. The extract will give the original records of the watch's provenance.

As expected it would not be cheap to restore the watch but this quote is still a bit more than I would have hoped. I'm assuming by returning the watch through an authorised retainer they have put a margin on the repair costs as well. Particularly as the archive extract is quoted as €195 while on the PP website it is quoted as 100CHF.

Given that the watch would only be worth around €9000 if it was in good condition what would you do if it was your watch?

Fran

 

[watch-guy.com]

watch is worth 9- 10k so if you are interested then I would go for a product restoration ( NOT THE DIAL)

However if you decide to sell as is be expected to get 1-2 K as the buyer is taking the chance regarding the restoration ( and if the dial needs replacing , it would severely reduce the value)
It is a great watch but only if you want it ... don't expect to make fortunes but since you never paid for it , i would repair and that cost would be your purchase cost

Ignore the strap/buckle and archive costs

Julian

 

[fran426ft]

Thanks Julian,

I like the idea of having this for myself for a while but it's still a significant amount for me to invest and I may never try to sell it on. What are you thoughts on the laser work to repair the case? You can see from the photos of the watch that the case has taken some damage. Would you leave the case as is or have it repaired?

Fran