[fortyfive1911a1]

Hello there! I inherited a gold Armand Nicolet pocket watch 6 or 7 years ago that was produced sometime in the late 1800s-early 1900s. It does not work and is very difficult to open. We sent it to the Nicolet company several years ago to get some information on it and asked them how much it would be to get it into working order. I believe they said it was actually built in the US during their short time here, and they said it would be 15k US dollars to get it into working order. That was definitely out of our price range, so it has just sat in the safe since then.

My wife and I are buying our first house in the next few months, so I'm thinking it is time to part ways with it. How would you recommend I go about selling it? Should I just try to sell it for the gold, or try Ebay, or do you recommend somewhere specifically? I thought about contacting the Nicolet company again and seeing if they might be interested in it.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! I will try to post some pictures.

 

[GlennO]

Armand Nicolet is a completely different company to Nicolet which sells cheap fashion watches. If it's an AN, it might be worth contacting them. I believe the company began in 1902 so you might have one of their earliest pieces.

 

[fortyfive1911a1]

I found my paperwork and some photos of the watch. It was confirmed by Armand Nicolet in 2009 that it was a Complete Calendar, Repeater, & Chronograph produced by them between 1897 & 1902. It was actually just sold in America, not produced here. They said that was about all they could tell us because most of their information from the 19th century was lost. I have contacted them again and asked if they would be interested in buying it for a reasonable price. I hope that I can sell it as a watch, and not just for gold content, as it really is a beautiful piece. I will try to attach a picture.

 

[GlennO]

Wow, now I understand the repair estimate. Would certainly be a shame to scrap that one. Good luck!

 

[Nokie]

Google is also your friend.

 

[fortyfive1911a1]

I have googled this watch many times with not much for results. I'll write an update if I hear back from Armand Nicolet.

 

[fortyfive1911a1]

Well, I heard back from the Armand Nicolet company and they proposed something very intriguing. They are interested in purchasing the watch and restoring it to display in their museum! They are proposing trading several of their new watches for mine. I have asked for a little more information on them (quantity, style, grade, etc.), but it is a very interesting offer. I definitely like the idea of it being restored and displayed. I have a feeling that they do not have an example this old.
I'm glad I decided to contact them instead of selling it for the gold!

 

[GlennO]

That's great news. I'd be interested in seeing the watches they are proposing for trade. I've had one AN was very impressed with the quality.

 

[fortyfive1911a1]

That's great news. I'd be interested in seeing the watches they are proposing for trade. I've had one AN was very impressed with the quality.

They told me to go on their website and tell them which ones I like best from their current production line. I really like the S05 for mens & the M03 for womens watches. Of course my absolute favorite is the limited edition L07 - but I'm 100% sure that's not an option! I gave them specific models I was interested in, so we'll see what happens from here!

 

[fortyfive1911a1]

I am resurrecting my extremely old thread, as my Armand Nicolet story finally has some closure to it after years of back and forth. After Armand Nicolet agreed to trade my antique pocket watch for two of their new watches, they started to lose interest and finally decided against the trade.

I ended up sending my pocket watch to an antique watch expert recently who closely examined the internals. Sadly, as I had suspected, there were some very important parts missing (the entire repeating mechanism). It was going to cost more than the watch was worth to have it repaired - if it even could ultimately be repaired.

Long story short, I sold the antique watch to the expert for the gold content and used the funds to help with the purchase of a brand new Armand Nicolet S05! I figured that would be the best way to honor the 115 year old tradition of having an Armand Nicolet watch in the family. All in all, I am thrilled to finally have some closure as well as having a functioning watch that I can pass down to my son one day instead of a broken watch that will never be repaired sitting in the safe.

We'll have to see if I'm brave enough to wear it often, as my Citizen is about as fancy a watch as I'm used to wearing.

 

[u2bdet]

I REALLY ..REALLY hope you checked out the "expert" somebody who tells you its not worth fixing then offers to buy it for "scrap" ...Hope you got other opinions on this , but that's water under the bridge ! Enjoy your new Armand Nicolett!!!

 

[fortyfive1911a1]

He is a highly regarded antique watch expert/public figure. It was not the local pawn shop jeweler.

Armand Nicolet quoted me $10k to repair the antique watch themselves and it would only be worth $4-6k in running condition, so his comments and observations just reinforced what I already knew about the watch.

I am hopeful that the new owner isn't actually going to scrap it, but that is his decision now.