Owner Harlan Hock says this Rolex pocket watch is highly collectible in part because the name of the manufacturer does not appear on the dial. It was presented to an employee of the Eaton Department Store in Canada for 25 years of service. THE PIECE: A 14k green gold, 17 jewel, presentation pocket watch made by Rolex in the 1940s THE OWNER: Harlan Hock of Gretna bought his first pocket watch nearly 20 years ago, and since then has amassed an impressive collection that includes 350 pocket watches and more than 100 wristwatches. While he initially had no intention of becoming a collector, he soon found that his passion for pocket watches led him to look for vintage and antique timepieces wherever he went. "After I had 40 or 50 of them, I realized that I should try to learn more about them," he says. He sought out experts and later joined the local chapter of the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors. ABOUT ROLEX: One of the most famous names in watches, Rolex, was founded in 1908 by German Hans Wilsdorf and his brother in law Alfred Davis. Their Wilsdorf Davis company had begun in 1905 in London by importing Swiss movements and placing them in cases that were then sold to jewelers, who inscribed their own names on the watches. After moving to Switzerland in 1908 and adopting the name Rolex, Wilsdorf quickly earned a reputation for producing high quality, fashionable timepieces by developing watches that were more accurate and smaller than those of competitors. Among the company's innovations were creating the first waterproof watch case, the first wristwatch with a date on the dial and the first watch to show two time zones at once. Rolex was the first watchmaker to earn chronometer certification for a wristwatch (1910), and still holds the record for the most certified chronometer movements in wristwatches. It also participated in the development of the original quartz movements in the 1960s. Rolex has become a symbol of quality in time keeping as well as a status symbol among consumers. A HISTORY: Invented in the 16th century, the pocket watch was the first personal, transportable mechanical timepiece. Because early clocks were driven by a series of counterbalances and weights, the large and cumbersome devices were only found in churches and other public buildings. With the invention of the coiled mainspring by Nuremberg locksmith Peter Henlien in the 1500s, the manufacture of smaller clocks, which could be used in homes, for instance, became possible. Men typically carried theirs in coat or vest pockets, and women often wore them around their necks. During the 1700s, English watchmakers began creating unique and elegant cases to protect the faces and hour hands (there were no minute or second hands on early watches), and added gemstones as bearings to prevent wear between the metal parts. In the 1800s, the reliability of watches varied widely. This problem was finally addressed in the early 1900s, when the railroad industry set standards for the type of timepieces that could be used by its personnel after a major collision occurred because an engineer's watch had stopped for four minutes. American companies were the chief manufacturers of precision railroad watches carried by conductors and engineers in the early 1900s. Until losing their popularity to wristwatches in 1950s, pocket watches were a fashion statement for many Americans. OUT OF POCKET: When Hock purchased this pocket watch, he didn't know it was a Rolex. "I had it for a couple of years before I discovered that it was signed Rolex on the movement inside," Hock said. He had bought most of his watches for their fashion appeal, and it was not until a fellow collector suggested he scrutinize the interior mechanism, or movement, to determine a watch's value that he began looking beyond the aesthetics of his timepieces. Of particular interest to collectors and therefore the most expensive are pocket watches made before 1865, but vintage pocket and wrist watches from American names as Hamilton, Elgin, Illinois, Rockford, Waltham or Howards can be worth from several hundred to many thousands of dollars. WHAT IT'S WORTH: Vintage Rolex watches are highly desired by collectors and can be valued from a few thousand dollars to tens of thousands, depending on factors such as condition and rarity. As it turns out, Hock's Quarter Century Club presentation pocket watch, which he purchased at a flea market for $225, was worth at least $1,600, according to the annually published "Complete Price Guide to Watches" by Cooksey Shugart. "But I recently found the identical watch offered for auction with a 'Buy it Now' price of $4,000 on eBay, so it may actually be worth more," Hock said. SEND US YOUR TREASURE: Do you have a piece of furniture, painting, art object or family heirloom that you think may be valuable? Submit it to Varied Treasure for a professional appraisal. Only those items selected for publication will be appraised.
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