1 00:00:02,066 --> 00:00:05,000 GUEST: Well, today I brought some musical pocket watch fobs. Um, normally, gentlemen 2 00:00:07,066 --> 00:00:10,266 that wore pocket watches would wear fobs or seals on the other end of the, their chains, 3 00:00:10,266 --> 00:00:15,266 but these, um, all five of these actually have a musical movement underneath it, and each one of 4 00:00:17,366 --> 00:00:20,633 them plays a separate tune. You just turn the top, and there's a small switch in the front, 5 00:00:20,633 --> 00:00:25,633 and the watch owner could listen to the tune. I started collecting regular watch fobs, 6 00:00:27,533 --> 00:00:30,533 and when I was on travel for work, a young lady in the U.K. showed me this one. 7 00:00:30,533 --> 00:00:32,333 APPRAISER: Uh-huh. GUEST: And as soon as I saw it, 8 00:00:32,333 --> 00:00:37,033 I was hooked. So this has taken me about ten or 12 years to collect. 9 00:00:37,033 --> 00:00:38,833 APPRAISER: What did you pay for them? 10 00:00:38,833 --> 00:00:43,366 GUEST: This one was about $900 to $950. Um, this was under $2,000, 11 00:00:45,500 --> 00:00:48,600 more like $1,900. This one was just at $2,000. Um, this one was around $2,100. And this one 12 00:00:53,100 --> 00:00:57,433 was a little bit more expensive, because it has the original Moroccan leather case... 13 00:00:57,433 --> 00:00:59,600 APPRAISER: Uh-huh. GUEST: ...and it was just a touch over $4,000. 14 00:00:59,600 --> 00:01:04,266 APPRAISER: Oh, okay, very good. Well, they're really fantastic. When you brought 'em to the 15 00:01:06,166 --> 00:01:08,700 table, I was immediately engrossed in them. (laughs) They're from the early to 16 00:01:08,700 --> 00:01:13,700 mid-1800s. They're a great collection of watch fobs, and they're musical. 17 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:16,433 GUEST: Yes. APPRAISER: And they play a beautiful little tune. 18 00:01:16,433 --> 00:01:18,033 GUEST: Would you like to hear one? 19 00:01:18,033 --> 00:01:20,200 APPRAISER: Yes, we would love to hear one. 20 00:01:20,200 --> 00:01:25,033 GUEST: Certainly. So you just turn the stem on the top. (fob whirring, tune tinkling) 21 00:01:29,200 --> 00:01:33,866 APPRAISER: That extra added element of the playing the music is just amazing. 22 00:01:33,866 --> 00:01:38,866 Absolutely fascinating to me. So have you ever had anybody currently appraise them? 23 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:41,400 GUEST: I have not. I have not. 24 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:43,900 APPRAISER: And so how long ago did you, were you buying these? 25 00:01:43,900 --> 00:01:46,433 GUEST: Um, around 2002, 2003. 26 00:01:46,433 --> 00:01:49,566 APPRAISER: They're very difficult to find. 27 00:01:49,566 --> 00:01:51,166 GUEST: Mm-hmm. 28 00:01:51,166 --> 00:01:52,333 APPRAISER: This one, you told me, was nine-karat rolled gold. 29 00:01:52,333 --> 00:01:54,500 GUEST: Yes. 30 00:01:54,500 --> 00:01:57,766 APPRAISER: Which actually means it's gold-filled, or has a layer of gold on the outside. 31 00:01:58,400 --> 00:02:00,300 GUEST: Okay. 32 00:02:00,300 --> 00:02:03,733 APPRAISER: The others are 18-karat gold. And this one, I believe, 33 00:02:05,033 --> 00:02:07,633 is the oldest one and the most difficult to make. 34 00:02:07,633 --> 00:02:09,466 GUEST: Okay. 35 00:02:09,466 --> 00:02:12,233 APPRAISER: Because it is the tricolor gold. And the way they made that was, 36 00:02:12,233 --> 00:02:16,200 they made the basic component of the fob, and then they applied all 37 00:02:16,200 --> 00:02:21,133 the different colors to that, and then they put the music box inside there... 38 00:02:21,133 --> 00:02:23,166 GUEST: Okay. 39 00:02:23,166 --> 00:02:26,133 APPRAISER: ...and then, then attached the activator, which is what sets it off. So, 40 00:02:28,200 --> 00:02:31,300 the estimates that I would give for this at auction are $3,000 to $5,000 for this one, 41 00:02:33,433 --> 00:02:36,533 since it's gold-filled. For the other three pieces-- these two are similar-- I would say 42 00:02:38,666 --> 00:02:42,900 they're going to be at $6,000 to $8,000. And for the tricolor gold one, the auction estimate 43 00:02:45,033 --> 00:02:49,700 would be $7,000 to $9,000. So as a group, the estimate would be $28,000 to $38,000. However, 44 00:02:52,866 --> 00:02:57,833 when you sell such a desirable, rare item like this in a group, the price tends to go way higher. 45 00:02:59,766 --> 00:03:01,633 GUEST: Okay. 46 00:03:01,633 --> 00:03:03,033 APPRAISER: And I would think that the auction estimate for this would 47 00:03:03,033 --> 00:03:07,100 be $45,000 to $55,000 for the entire collection. 48 00:03:07,100 --> 00:03:10,033 GUEST: Wow, okay-- thank you very much. 49 00:03:10,033 --> 00:03:11,533 APPRAISER: My pleasure-- thank you. 50 00:03:11,533 --> 00:03:13,400 GUEST: My daughter will be very happy. (laughs) That'll 51 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:16,166 put a nice dent in the, uh, law school tuition.