Strange find: Sterling Silver pocket watch back, but stamped 18k! Age?

testing123 · Jun 28, 2010

Picked this up today from an area dating from around the 1870s. Gave a nice silver tone and it was surprising to see it pop out - only a couple inches deep. Definitely looked silver and sounded silver on the outside. But, the inside has an 18k stamp in it and a serial number 58285. It's gold plated on the inside and the back side tests Sterling silver (did all the gold plating wear off on the back?). Measures 2 inches in diameter. My questions:

How common was it to mark gold plated items with just "18k" and also
any idea of age or the watch brand?

Thanks in advance and happy hunting!

MUD(S.W.A.T) · Jun 28, 2010

18k gold over sterling silver. :headbang:

Cheap way to look flashy or someones scam. :icon_thumleft:

Awesome find !! :headbang:

Keep @ It and HH !!

oakhunter27 · Jun 29, 2010

i dont know but it's cool

HCW · Jun 29, 2010

White gold.

thrillathahunt · Jun 29, 2010

Unless you cleaned this, it would likely be tarnished black if it was silver.....could be 18K white gold as HCW said. But then again, would not give a high silver tone on your machine. (low tone)

Wldbil · Jun 29, 2010

Cool find... It may be a Waltham pocket watch, but you can check on the serial number here.

http://www.nawcc-info.org/walthamdb/walsernum.htm

Lookn4Seated · Jun 29, 2010

thrillathahunt said:
Unless you cleaned this, it would likely be tarnished black if it was silver.....could be 18K white gold as HCW said. But then again, would not give a high silver tone on your machine. (low tone)

Actually, 18k and higher comes in like a quarter on the E-Trac, which would give off a high tone. Could be white gold. Have you tried doing an acid test on it?

ProPointer · Jun 29, 2010

Maybe White Gold? Looks to be early 1900s late 1800s. Neat find.

thrillathahunt · Jun 29, 2010

Lookn4seated said:
thrillathahunt said:

Unless you cleaned this, it would likely be tarnished black if it was silver.....could be 18K white gold as HCW said. But then again, would not give a high silver tone on your machine. (low tone)

Click to expand...

Actually, 18k and higher comes in like a quarter on the E-Trac, which would give off a high tone. Could be white gold. Have you tried doing an acid test on it?

Thanks for the clarification on that Lookn4seated. :thumbsup:

It really needs an acid test.

mountainplayer · Jun 29, 2010

Cool find testing123!

The serial number is not going to tell you anything about the watch...only the case itself. I did some reasearch after finding a complete waltham watch a few weeks ago. Back in the day, when you went to buy a watch you picked out a case and a movement and the jeweler or watchmaker assembled them for you. Cases had their own manufacturers and serial numbers, which were separate and un-related to the movement.

Given that you just have a serial number and no makers mark of manufacturer name, its probably going to be tough to date this beyond the estimates given. Great find!

MP

Cool Hand Fluke · Jun 29, 2010

thrillathahunt said:
Unless you cleaned this, it would likely be tarnished black if it was silver.....could be 18K white gold as HCW said. But then again, would not give a high silver tone on your machine. (low tone)

Large gold items will sometimes id as silver. 6 months ago I dug a 50 cent reading on my Teknetics T2 and it was a 24K gold wedding band. Its weight was about 12 grams. My Fisher ID'ed it as silver too. My guess is that it may be white gold or vermeil (gold plated sterling silver).

cntrydncr1 · Jun 29, 2010

nice find!

MUD(S.W.A.T) · Jun 29, 2010

thrillathahunt said:
Unless you cleaned this, it would likely be tarnished black if it was silver.....could be 18K white gold as HCW said. But then again, would not give a high silver tone on your machine. (low tone)

Silver dose not always tarnish... :read2:

I've dug 200 year old coins made of silver that came out of the ground as shinny as they went in.

Also between my hunting partner and I we have found a few silver watches or pieces. :icon_thumleft:

I can almost guarantee that it is Gold Plated Silver. :icon_thumleft:

See the difference between the inside and outside. :icon_scratch:

The inside is clearly gold plate and the outside is clearly silver. Can you see the difference? :dontknow:

If the outside was gold it would look like the inside even white gold will have a luster like the inside. :icon_thumleft:

Not a dull silver luster like it has. :headbang:

It was common to mark gold plated copper rings with 18k back in the day. :icon_thumleft:

It would not surprise me if they did it to watches too. :headbang:

To me it looks like just the inside was plated gold for flare/looks. The outside was left as silver!

As for the date or age this is from. :icon_scratch:

I'd even say this predates the invention of white gold. :read2:

So sometime between 1800-1899 :icon_thumleft:

Great find !! :icon_thumleft:

Keep @ it and HH !!

Mr Tuff · Jun 29, 2010

awesome find!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! all i know is that big 22k gold.. like 5 and 10 dollar gold coins read like a zinc, but sound way different. a sound sorta like silver, but not like crumby zincons sounds.. on my SAFARI.. MR TUFF

tuatara · Jul 1, 2010

Silver dose not always tarnish... I've dug 200 year old coins made of silver that came out of the ground as shinny as they went in. Also between my hunting partner and I we have found a few silver watches or pieces. I can almost guarantee that it is Gold Plated Silver. See the difference between the inside and outside. The inside is clearly gold plate and the outside is clearly silver. Can you see the difference? If the outside was gold it would look like the inside even white gold will have a luster like the inside. Not a dull silver luster like it has. It was common to mark gold plated copper rings with 18k back in the day. It would not surprise me if they did it to watches too. To me it looks like just the inside was plated gold for flare/looks. The outside was left as silver!

As for the date or age this is from. I'd even say this predates the invention of white gold. So sometime between 1800-1899

Great find !!

Keep @ it and HH !!

It must be silver if it gives that kind of signal. I would shift the date to 1890 - 1915 when shields were very popular on fob watches and watch fobs. I also have some combination jewellery of that time that where both silver and white gold were used.

testing123 · Jul 1, 2010

tuatara said:
Silver dose not always tarnish... I've dug 200 year old coins made of silver that came out of the ground as shinny as they went in. Also between my hunting partner and I we have found a few silver watches or pieces. I can almost guarantee that it is Gold Plated Silver. See the difference between the inside and outside. The inside is clearly gold plate and the outside is clearly silver. Can you see the difference? If the outside was gold it would look like the inside even white gold will have a luster like the inside. Not a dull silver luster like it has. It was common to mark gold plated copper rings with 18k back in the day. It would not surprise me if they did it to watches too. To me it looks like just the inside was plated gold for flare/looks. The outside was left as silver!

As for the date or age this is from. I'd even say this predates the invention of white gold. So sometime between 1800-1899

Great find !!

Keep @ it and HH !!

Click to expand...

It must be silver if it gives that kind of signal. I would shift the date to 1890 - 1915 when shields were very popular on fob watches and watch fobs. I also have some combination jewellery of that time that where both silver and white gold were used.

I apologize for my bad photography. The inside is a yellow gold color, but the other side is all silver (no signs of any plating). I did test the back side, and confirmed it is Sterling Silver. The inside is apparently just gold plated (not solid). Thanks everyone for your input!