Help with identification please!?

[Flockton1]

Hello! I am new to this forum business so please bare with any errors...
I was given this watch by my grandfather. He said it doesn’t work and he doesn’t want it anymore as he will never wear it, but it is 18ct gold and thought I could get some money for it (I work as a goldsmith). It is indeed stamped with 750 but no other hallmarks. He received it as a gift Back in the 70s I believe, when he worked for the foreign office.
The watch face says ‘Léonard Geneve’ but when I opened it up to see the mechanism it says ‘Ulysse Nardin’, ‘17 jewels’ and the number ‘034688’.
Can anyone help me identify if this is in fact a Ulysse Nardin watch or just the mechanism (I read that his father was called Leonard??), and any idea how much it would be worth or where I could sell it? Maybe someone on here collects them?! I haven’t been able to find any that look the same online.

 

[captainscarlet]

Hi Flockton1, this looks to be a very nice watch indeed. If it were mine I would contact Ulysse Nardin direct and ask them to identify it. You can contact them through their website. It would help if you could take a clear picture of the identifying marks inside the caseback.

 

[Flockton1]

Thank you captainscarlet glad you suggested that as a good thing to do, I emailed them earlier but wasn’t sure if they would be any help. Will try take some better photos as well! Fingers crossed they get back to me with some information about it

 

[svenedin]

What an exceptional gift your grandfather was given. They don't give gifts like that where I work. Have to make do with some chocolate biscuits if I'm lucky!

Are you sure it doesn't work? It looks to be in very good condition and probably only needs a service (of course by a competent watchmaker).

 

[Flockton1]

What an exceptional gift your grandfather was given. They don't give gifts like that where I work. Have to make do with some chocolate biscuits if I'm lucky!

Are you sure it doesn't work? It looks to be in very good condition and probably only needs a service (of course by a competent watchmaker).

Haha! Yes, quite an exotic life he’s had! The story was that the owner of the shop wanted to give him a gift, opened a draw and told him to pick one. Apparently it wasn’t the drawer with the expensive watches in...!

It probably would work if I got it serviced, as you say it’s in very good condition and I don’t think it’s been worn much at all, but rather has sitting in a box hidden away for decades.

 

[captainscarlet]

Thank you captainscarlet glad you suggested that as a good thing to do, I emailed them earlier but wasn’t sure if they would be any help. Will try take some better photos as well! Fingers crossed they get back to me with some information about it

No problem Flockton1, UN should at least be able to tell you whether they supplied the movement assuming they still have records. Just for clarity, the logo on your dial is a completely separate entity to UN.

 

[Flockton1]

No problem Flockton1, UN should at least be able to tell you whether they supplied the movement assuming they still have records. Just for clarity, the logo on your dial is a completely separate entity to UN.

I do hope so! Haven’t heard anything back yet. Yes, I can’t find much info on the ‘Léonard’ brand either - at least not with the same logo.. I’ve seen a few watches on eBay with that branding but they seem to be fairly cheap, certainly nothing made from solid gold. I will continue searching!

 

[RL]

The name of the father (also a watchmaker) of Ulysse Nardin was indeed Leonard.
If this piece is made by Ulysse Nardin Co. ---and if it is from a watch or series named after his father--
plus adding in the gold content--------------I would think this watch would have a fairly decent value.
I hope your return information from the U.N. company is promising.

P.S.------ If that is the original box (pictured)--that would also carry a certain
amount of value with some buyers and / or collectors

 

[Flockton1]

The name of the father (also a watchmaker) of Ulysse Nardin was indeed Leonard.
If this piece is made by Ulysse Nardin Co. ---and if it is from a watch or series named after his father--
plus adding in the gold content--------------I would think this watch would have a fairly decent value.
I hope your return information from the U.N. company is promising.

P.S.------ If that is the original box (pictured)--that would also carry a certain
amount of value with some buyers and / or collectors

So UN replied to us saying it was nothing to do with them and to contact the watch company ‘LEONARD’ - very unhelpful and I’m certain it’s not made by ‘LEONARD’ as the logo is completely different! So then I asked Ben Wright (watch expert from antiques roadshow); he said it is a Ulysse Nardin watch but retailed by Léonard who he didn’t know, but likely a jewellers in Geneva. On google there is a ‘Léonard Timepieces’ shop in Geneva but no website, so could be it. Mr Wright recliner it isn’t a collectors item and probably just worth it’s weight in gold. It’s not in the original box so no value there... so there we have it, sending it off for scrap. Considering the price of gold at the moment the amount we’ll get for it is still nothing to be sniffed at! And seeing as my grandfather never paid anything for it in the first place I think he will be very happy with that

 

[RL]

Well---disappointing news but nothing unexpected in the watch world.
It would probably be an ok time keeper also with a servicing.

 

[MrRoundel]

My advice is to get someone who knows what they're doing to remove the movement from the case to keep for posterity. It is a fine quality movement. If the scrapper gets it they'll use a demolition hammer on it to remove the movement and probably destroy the dial in the process. Then they'll either give it back to you damaged, if you're interested, or sell it to someone who sells movements that have been torn from their original cases. My suspicion is that they'll downplay the movement's value, as it's the only part of the package that is subjective being that gold price is what it is. I get the temptation of scrapping at gold's price today, but it certainly is a shame, IMHO.

 

[captainscarlet]

but it certainly is a shame, IMHO.

I agree Mr Roundel. The watch looks to be a quality piece. As I stated before the ‘Leonard Geneve’ signature on the dial is a seperate entity from the movement maker and I’m not too surprised at UN being a tad unhelpful. The logo does match most of the other Leonard Geneve watches I’ve seen on google images in my humble opinion, however these watches are several leagues below the OP watch regarding quality. I would like to see a good clear close up of the marks inside the caseback before it’s bubbling away in a crucible

 

[MrRoundel]

That movement is of Vacheron quality (Might even be one, IMHO.). Or, at the very least, perhaps a very high end LeCoultre. I agree that to melt it would be a shame. I would at least try to sell it on "the bay" or something and put a gold value reserve on it. You might be surprised. Then again, it's yours to do what you will with it. But the NAWCC is mostly made up of collectors. Most here hate to see such fine works of jewelry art turned into a gold Sovereign.

Do yourself a favor and search for mens Piaget 18K watches. While yours does not carry the name, it has all the quality that a Piaget would have. They are beautiful dress watches, made by expert craftsmen. Cheers.