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Ethan,Robert, I am not questioning your conclusion that the case in question is gold-filled, but I do question your statement that "[a]nytime you observe a watch case marked warranted or guaranteed it will be gold-filled." I don't think that's true.
I collect solid gold or platinum pocket watches almost exclusively. Some of their cases are marked "warranted," such as the case on this Elgin Grade 72 21j convertible.
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Some of my solid gold or platinum cases might be marked "guaranteed." I haven't looked through my collection for an example.
I find the best way to determine whether a case is solid gold is to see if the back or front cover flexes when you gently press its center. Gold-filled cases do not flex.
hankWelcome to the nawcc message board!
Here's a link to the Philadelphia watch case co in the encyclopedia.
Philadelphia Watch Case Co.
Great history of the company and has their list of grades and what they mean.
There's also a ton of info on Waltham if you use the search bar above!
Have a great day
Gosh Robert,Welcome to the NAWCC pocket watch message board.
Anytime you observe a watch case marked warranted or guaranteed it will be gold-filled. The trademark indicates the case was made by the Philadelphia Watch Case Co. This company was purchased by the Keystone Watch Case Co. abt. 1900.
Robert
Ethan,Jim and Robert, while I deeply respect your erudition, I think it is an overstatement to say that watch cases mark "warranted" or "guaranteed" are rarely solid gold. I have looked through the A-E watches in my collection to find solid gold cases with those words. Besides the Elgin Grade 72 that I showed in post 5, here are the other "warranted" or "guaranteed"-marked solid gold cases in my A-E portion of my collection.
"Warranted 18 Carat Fine"
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Anon. Swiss Pivot Chronometer
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Louis Audemars
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Badollet
"Warranted to Assay 19k"
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Bulova
"Warranted 14k U.S. Assay"
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Elgin Grade 91
"Warranted 14k"
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Elgin Grade 155
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Elgin Grade 156
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Elgin Frances Rubie
"U.S. Assay 14k"
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Elgin Grade 162
"Warranted 14k to Assay:
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Elgin Grade 190
"Guaranteed 14k "
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Elgin Grade 190
Mr. Hess,Gosh Robert,
I have been fighting this internet myth for 20 years! I cannot count the number of fights my wife (who runs our ebay deal) has been in with people sending us nasty-grams saying our watch is GOLD FILLED because it says warranted or Guranteed. I have long wondered if this was something written in some book or magazine and perpetuated on the net or just where this totally erroneous notion comes from
This is SIMPLY NOT TRUE!
Jeff
Sorry but this is one of the top 3 or four bugaboos and longstanding outrageous statements we have been fighting on the net . (Along with any phrase that starts with "Rolex never did that"!)
o. if I see the words and a purity rating on the case, I am good with it, but if the see the words guaranteed or warranted, without a rating I would have it tested and more importantly, I would not buy it unless it could be verified.
I used to work at a gold buying location that purchased serious amounts of weight and I can't tell you how many times we would get solid gold cases in that people insisted were gold filled.
It was just a crummy tactic used by watch case manufacturers to deceive customers. "Guaranteed / Warranted to wear X years" is what most people see on watches and they just assume guaranteed / warranted in any manner must be gold filled.
I never did mind being on the buying end of it though, if I am out buying watches and you say its GF, then so be it!
I'm with Jim on this one, why would a company deceive someoneGuaranteed / Warranted to wear X years" is what most people see on watches and they just assume guaranteed / warranted in any manner must be gold filled.
You are absolutely correct. As a Gold Buyer for many years I have ran across this many times, and drilled many times to prove to people that their 14K Montauk pocket watch case was actually Gold Filled. Ugly green bubbles, but that's another story!Ethan,
You have an exception, and their is usually an EXCEPTION, however in this case (Ha)The Warranted is used to Warrant the 14K assay mark..
I usually follow, as a general rule, Robert's advise about the words warranted or guaranteed.
Or we can slightly amend the statement to say when you see the words warranted or guaranteed, without a assay mark, it is most likely Gold filled.![]()
Now this I want to see. I have never seen one before.I would love to see example of your statement, Warranted 10,20, 25, Years that test solid gold, it would be a rare case indeed
Can you show us one?
Thanks.
I would love to see example of your statement, Warranted 10,20, 25, Years that test solid gold, it would be a rare case indeed
Can you show us one?
Thanks.
I hate to say it, but if they are dead set on what they have is gold filled and I have told them its 14K I would take it. It's not on me to educate them on their items. They should know. Some people are their own worst enemy. I always let them own the battlefield, while I won the war.......I didn't mean watches marked "Warranted X Years" are gold. People are just so used to seeing "Warranted/Guaranteed X Years" that anytime they see Warranted/Guaranteed in any format they just assume it is gold filled no matter what. So a customer would have a watch that said "Warranted to Assay 14K Fine" and they were insistent on it being gold filled, not solid gold.