I am not a watch person... so please tell me what I'm looking at here

Goldmedalexchange

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I bought this watch at a sale today because it's 14k. Paid $50. The guy said it's a wind up and that it works but I have not even a clue. What kind of value might I be looking at? Best way to sell? How much is it likely to get it cleaned up? Anything to help a watch noob out. Thanks.

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tamrock

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Your pic is kinda out a focus, but I believe I'm seeing the mark of a solid 14K gold case. I met a guy on the road who had a small custom jewelry and pawn shop and he would cut those fancy diamond and gold lugs off and fashion a pair of diamond and gold earrings out of that part of the case and scrap the bezel and back. He really maximize the value out of those little gold watches by doing that and some of the examples he showed me were a set of earrings he was asking $400 to $600 a pair and they looked worth it. I have several small ladies gold cases stripped of the movement and crystal and think they all weigh around 2.8 to 3.3 grams each. If I was to sell that watch, it would be as-is. I don't think putting any more money in it will increase the value. Look up 14k white gold and diamond ladies Hamilton sales on eBay and you should get an idea of what they're going for. I've paid as much as 50 bucks for those just to buy the gold for a price below spot.
 

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cyberdan

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can you take a very closeup of the back of the movement? I see some numbers. A three digit starting with a 7. If it is 750 that could be the European mark for 18K Hamilton watches are made in Switzerland.
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18K, 18ct or 750 (parts per 1000) or 75% gold. (Most quality pieces are 18ct. Minimum gold standard for sale in Italy.)

This was taken from page:
Meaning of gold hallmarks & stamps 18K 14K 10K 9K 9CT | eBay
 

diggummup

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I'm not a watch person either but I can tell you a little. It's a vintage ladies Hamilton watch that probably dates to the mid/late 1950's. It has a 17 jewel, number 780 movement with a 14k white gold case and diamonds. As mentioned, take it to a jeweler and they will tell you the size of the diamonds. For $50, you got a good deal I believe. I would think it's worth an easy $125-$150 from looking at completed ebay listings of similar ones. That's what my 8 minutes of research tells me, lol.
 

JimDon

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Diggummup summed it up perfectly. U should double your money
 

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Goldmedalexchange

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Diggummup summed it up perfectly. U should double your money

I did. Thank you all for your words of wisdom. The jeweler said the early 60s styles aren't that great on resale (I don't ebay very well anyway) so he offered me $100 I took it doubling my money with little effort.
 

Beachkid23

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I did. Thank you all for your words of wisdom. The jeweler said the early 60s styles aren't that great on resale (I don't ebay very well anyway) so he offered me $100 I took it doubling my money with little effort.

To be honest I don’t blame you. Scrap gold is about what they go for. Find a gold Men’s watch totally different story.
 

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