hello,
New member to the forum.
I have a Bulova Accutron 14K M9 watch and know that my watch weighs 37grams(only the watch, no band or strap)
I have seen several different opinions on the web on how much actual weight of this 37 gram is 14K Gold.
Short of actually taking the watch apart and finding out myself I thought I would ask this question and see if somebody has more accurate info on the gold content.
If this question has been asked in the past, please accept my sincerest apologies and kindly point me to this info.
Thanks,
Mario
I was wondering the same thing. I recently bought an Accutron Alpha that is 14k. I was trying to figure out how much of the value is based on gold content, But I suspect that it will vary significantly with the different case models.
I wonder if it would be more useful to know how much a 214 movement weighs (with and without the dial for Spaceviews). Then you could subtract the weight of the movement. Still not perfect. There would be different style hands and crystals, but probably a good ballpark number. The weight of the 214 would likely help you and I, but not those with other movements like the 218. It would also raise the question if early 214's like mine from 1960, and late movements like your 1969 weigh the same.
I only have two examples.
18kt Gold Case #2324. Weight: 23grams total gold weight (the 1.4gram crystal is still on the case so I subtracted that)
14kt White Gold Case #2319 Weight: 22.8grams total gold weight
* Tha Gold Alpha would be very near these gold weights.
The 214 movements with dial and hands weigh roughly 12 grams.
The crystal typically weighs about 1.4grams.
The total of all would be 36.2grams for the 14kt case and 36.4 grams for the 18kt case (Case/movement & crystal combined)
[img]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51071113513_c259775a2b.jpg[/img]
[img]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51071113058_3a4c01a6d8_w.jpg[/img]
In reply to I only have two examples. … by SpaceviewM2
In reply to I only have two examples. … by SpaceviewM2
hello,
Thank you so much for your answers and input.
I was ballparking it about at 24-25 grams of pure 14K gold on my watch. So I was maybe only off 1-2 grams.
This all came about when I was dealing with an "Vintage Watch" Dealer to get an estimate on the value of my watch and he flat out stated that my watch is only basically worth the gold content and not much more because of the fact that Accutrons are not very desirable watches. He told me that the watch would therefore only be about $200-300.
I beg to differ on both counts.
I think our Accutrons are highly desirable and marvelous pieces of Americana.
And 23grams of 14K gold at about $32 puts the value of the watch at least (23x$32) $736.
I am not sure I would part with my watch for less than $1000.
I am just really disappointed on how dismissive he was on an Accutron watch. He stated that besides not being very desirable pieces they are also very unreliable. I stated that the reliability of Accutrons are almost unsurpassed from what I can gather from my limited research but he was very opinionated in his beliefs and was done dealing with "Bulova" inferior watchman ship as he put it. He stated that he was more of a Rolex "Man" lol.
Well, I got this off my chest.
Time for a beverage to cool off.
Mario
In reply to hello, Thank you so much for… by greece13
As an antique dealer for 40+ years, I am always appalled when dealers feel obligated to denigrate people's items in an attempt to buy them cheap. Like you, I run away from people like that, and steer others away from them as well. What is worse, if you were trying to buy an Accutron from the same guy, I guarantee his story would be quite different about their quality and reliability.
Brian
Every watch case style will weigh a different amount. The only accurate way to determine weight is to remove everything that isn't sold gold. Remember there can also be inaccuracies in different scales. Any dealer that "appraises" your item and tells you it isn't worth a much and THEN offers to buy it is unethical and should not be trusted.
There’s another lesson to be learned here. Make friends with your local gold scrappers/refineries and tell them you will buy watches that come in at the scrap price plus a mark up. I recently got a beautiful Vacheron and Constantin 1944 18 karat gold wristwatch for scrap +10%. I also try to buy movements and recently got a running Omega 520 movement for $50. I also tell them I will buy gold watch buckles too. So far none of them have come up.