# Thos Whitt Antique Pocket Watch



## eeny99 (Oct 31, 2009)

Late last year an elderly relative in Poland sent me a pocket watch with instructions to sell it for him. The watch is of silver metal (cannot see a hallmark), bears the name Thos Whitt and is a non runner, with some poorly repaired damage to the face. I found on another website that the name Thos Whitt appeared once in a single London trade directory, dated in the 1700s. I have included some photos of the watch below. Can anyone advise me as to likely value and how to set about selling it in a manner that would secure that value for its elderly owner?


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## Mikrolisk (Jan 23, 2008)

Can you provide us a movement foto?

Tho(ma)s Witt was a pseudonym for some swiss(!) watch makers who used the great reputation of london (verge) watches to sell their own watches for better money. This kind of watch is called a "swiss forgery". The quality of those watches went from "very poor" to "better than the original", but mostly more to "ok, but not more".

Regards,

Andreas


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## eeny99 (Oct 31, 2009)

Mikrolisk said:


> Can you provide us a movement foto?
> 
> Tho(ma)s Witt was a pseudonym for some swiss(!) watch makers who used the great reputation of london (verge) watches to sell their own watches for better money. This kind of watch is called a "swiss forgery". The quality of those watches went from "very poor" to "better than the original", but mostly more to "ok, but not more".
> 
> ...


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## eeny99 (Oct 31, 2009)

eeny99 said:


> Mikrolisk said:
> 
> 
> > Can you provide us a movement foto?
> ...


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## eeny99 (Oct 31, 2009)

Thank you for the speedy reply Andreas. Have you any idea of the date of Thos Whitt Swiss Forgeries?

Here is a photo of the watch movement, I couldn't see how to get into the rear of the movement - the face was only secured by the hands:


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## Mikrolisk (Jan 23, 2008)

Oh...

you see that lever on the movement pic at 6 o'clock? push it towards the center and lift the movement out, there's a hinge at 12 o'clock...

Regards,

Andreas


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## eeny99 (Oct 31, 2009)

Hi Andreas,

Thank you for the clear instructions. Photos of the movement are below:

Ian


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## Mikrolisk (Jan 23, 2008)

yeah, a typical swiss verge movement. English verges usually have a balance ****, not a balance bridge!

Andreas


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## ValvesRule (May 20, 2009)

Mikrolisk said:


> yeah, a typical swiss verge movement. English verges usually have a balance ****, not a balance bridge!
> 
> Andreas


Looks like we're going to have to start using Hax0R; I'd've thought it was perfectly fine in context;



> English verges usually have a balance c0ck, not a balance bridge!


Can you tell the condition and/or length of the FusÃ©e chain? If it's 9-10-11" and in good condition then I suspect this would make it quite valuable, as these chains are rare.


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## eeny99 (Oct 31, 2009)

Having just looked-up on the Internet what a FusÃ©e chain is, could you tell me how to set about assessing its length, without actually dismantling the watch. It would also be interesting to have an assessment of the age of the watch. Having read a little on Swiss Forgeries, I get the impression of anything from 1780 to the late 1800s.

Ian


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## ValvesRule (May 20, 2009)

eeny99 said:


> Having just looked-up on the Internet what a FusÃ©e chain is, could you tell me how to set about assessing its length, without actually dismantling the watch. It would also be interesting to have an assessment of the age of the watch. Having read a little on Swiss Forgeries, I get the impression of anything from 1780 to the late 1800s.
> 
> Ian


I cannot think of any way to determine the length of the Chain without removing it, other than measuring the diameter of the Cone then doing some complex maths.

Taking off the Chain is quite simple; it's putting it back on that's a bit fiddly.

1790s to 1820-30s was the general period that these long Chains were used for, and from your photograph it would appear that you have the original one. However, unless the Watch stopped fully wound, it would also appear that the Chain is broken near the spring-end.

I would agree with your assessment of its age, and would tend towards the earlier part of your range, i.e. 1780-1830s, given the Tompion Regulator and lack of a Barrel Bridge.


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