Sell a Patek Philippe Pocket Watch in Los Angeles
Sell a Patek Philippe pocket watch in Los Angeles to buyers who read the movement before naming a figure. On an antique Patek the name is a claim and the movement is the evidence. You are paid before you leave.
Where to Sell a Patek Philippe Pocket Watch in Los Angeles
The safest way to sell a Patek Philippe pocket watch in Los Angeles is to put it on a counter in front of someone who will open it, read the movement and tell you what they see before any number is spoken. That is how South Bay Coin has bought watches at 16916 Hawthorne Blvd in Lawndale since 1980, as a licensed, bonded and insured California dealer and a member of the NAWCC, the collectors' association built around pocket watches.
Most Patek pocket watches that reach us come out of a family, not a collection. A grandfather's hunter case from a desk drawer in Torrance, an open-face watch found with the silver in Palos Verdes, a watch someone in Redondo Beach was told was probably a Patek. Sellers rarely know which of three things they are holding: a watch made entirely in Geneva, a Geneva movement cased in America when it was new, or a watch that only borrows the name. We buy all three. Each is priced differently, and the difference is explained to you in plain words.
The rest of the market for these watches works at a distance. Vintage specialists quote from photographs and ask you to ship. National dealers send a form, then a prepaid label. Online listings leave the selling, the shipping and the risk with you. A watch this old and this valuable deserves to be held before it is priced, and you deserve to watch that happen. If you have wristwatches to sell as well, our luxury watch buyers in Lawndale handle them in the same visit.
Patek Philippe Pocket Watch Buyers Near Me in Lawndale
Our counter sits on Hawthorne Boulevard in Lawndale, minutes from Torrance, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, Hawthorne and Gardena. No appointment is needed. Bring the watch and anything that came with it.
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Sat: 10 AM - 3 PM
Sun: Closed
Is My Patek Philippe Pocket Watch Real?
Patek Philippe's name was being copied while its founders were still alive. In 1885, at the Universal Exposition in Antwerp, Adrien Philippe was serving on the international jury when he found pocket watches signed Pateck & Cie, Genève in another firm's display. They were not one or two stray pieces. Hundreds were made, the affair ended in court, and those watches still turn up in estates and at auction.
They were not the only borrowers. Collectors regularly come across ordinary Swiss movements of the period engraved with some version of the Patek name and none of the construction, finishing or regulation that Patek's own workshops put into a movement. Take the engraving away and nothing about the watch points to Geneva. Modern replicas add a third layer on top.
So on an antique Patek pocket watch the first question is not how good it is. It is whose work is inside it. The answer lives in the movement: how it is built, how it is finished, and whether the movement, dial and case agree with one another and with the period they claim. A signature on a dial or a dust cover settles nothing on its own. The name is a claim. The movement is the evidence.
If what you have is a Pateck, or a common movement wearing a borrowed name, we tell you at the counter and still make an offer on it for what it actually is. Some of those pieces are interesting in their own right. They are simply not priced as Patek Philippe watches, and a buyer who prices one as a Patek, or refuses to look, is not doing you a favor.
Sell an American-Cased Patek Philippe Pocket Watch
Many Patek Philippe pocket watches sold in the United States a century or more ago crossed the Atlantic without a case. The movement travelled with its dial, and the case was made here by an American case maker for the agent or jeweler who sold the watch. It was an ordinary way for fine Swiss movements to reach American buyers in that era.
That means a Patek pocket watch in a case Patek did not make can be exactly as original as one cased in Geneva. The case is not a later replacement. It is the case the watch was born in. Collectors discussing these watches on the NAWCC message boards make much the same point: grade, originality and condition count for more than the country where the gold was worked, and the quality and style of the case matter more than its origin.
Two things follow for a seller. First, the word recased is a claim to check, not a verdict. A buyer who sees an American case and discounts the watch without asking when that case was made has not read the watch. Second, never swap the case for a Patek-made one to correct it. That turns an original watch into a married one, and it cannot be undone.
A Patek-made case still carries weight, and a watch cased in Geneva is bought on those terms. What we will not do is treat an original American case as a flaw. Original is a matter of history, not of which workshop made the gold, and sellers from Long Beach to Manhattan Beach deserve a buyer who knows the difference.
Patek Philippe Pocket Watches We Buy for Cash
We buy Patek pocket watches from every era the manufacture has made them, in yellow, rose and white gold, platinum and silver, running or not.
Sell an Antique Patek Hunter or Open-Face
Geneva-cased watches from the 19th and early 20th centuries, hunter or open-face, enamel or metal dial, keyless or key-wound. We read the movement first and the case second.
Sell an American-Cased Patek Philippe
Geneva movements cased by American makers for the agents and jewelers who sold them. Bought as original watches when they are, and never discounted for the case alone.
Sell a Complicated Patek Pocket Watch
Repeaters, chronographs, calendars and chronometers. The mechanism is examined carefully with you at the counter and priced as the center of the offer, not as an extra.
Sell a Modern Patek Philippe Pocket Watch
Patek still makes pocket watches in small numbers. Recent hunter and open-face pieces are bought with their box, papers and chain, or without them.
How to Sell a Patek Philippe Pocket Watch Without Shipping It
Walk In or Text a Photo of Your Patek
Come to 16916 Hawthorne Blvd in Lawndale, Monday to Saturday, with no appointment. Or text a photo of the dial and case to (310) 363-2697 first.
Get a Free Patek Pocket Watch Evaluation
We open the watch and read the movement, dial and case with you at the counter, and tell you what it is before we say what it is worth.
Get Paid for Your Patek Before You Leave
Accept the offer and you are paid by cash or check at the counter. Decline and the watch goes home with you, exactly as it came in.
Patek Pocket Watch Buyers vs Specialists vs Marketplaces
Every route below can sell a Patek pocket watch. They differ in who holds the watch before the price is set, how long you wait to be paid, and whether anyone tells you what the watch actually is.
| Feature | South Bay Coin | Vintage Patek Specialists | National Pre-Owned Dealers | Online Marketplaces |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Says whether the movement is really Patek | Yes | Yes | Sometimes | No |
| Walk in with no appointment in LA County | Yes | No | No | No |
| Watch examined before any figure | Yes | Photos first | Form first | No |
| Treats an original American case as original | Yes | Yes | Varies | Varies |
| Watch stays with you until you accept | Yes | No | No | No |
| Paid before you leave | Yes | No | No | No |
| Specializes in Patek Philippe alone | No | Yes | No | No |
| Offers a trade-in toward another watch | No | Sometimes | Yes | No |
Reviews From Los Angeles Watch and Gold Sellers
Questions About Selling a Patek Philippe Pocket Watch
How much is my Patek Philippe pocket watch worth?
It depends on three things, in this order: whether the movement is genuinely Patek's work, what the watch does (a repeater or chronograph sits far above a simple time-only watch), and the originality and condition of the movement, dial and case together. On a genuine Patek, the gold in the case is a small part of the answer.
Where can I sell a Patek Philippe pocket watch in Los Angeles?
You can sell a Patek Philippe pocket watch in Los Angeles at South Bay Coin, 16916 Hawthorne Blvd in Lawndale, a short drive from Torrance, Redondo Beach and Manhattan Beach. Walk in Monday through Saturday with no appointment. The watch is examined with you at the counter, and you are paid before you leave.
How can I tell if my Patek Philippe pocket watch is real?
Look past the name. A genuine Patek movement shows construction and finishing that ordinary movements of the same era do not, and the movement, dial and case should agree with each other and with the period. Period imitations signed Pateck still circulate, so a signature alone proves nothing. We check it with you present.
What is a Pateck & Cie pocket watch?
It is a period imitation. In 1885 Adrien Philippe found watches signed Pateck & Cie, Genève at the Universal Exposition in Antwerp, and the dispute went to court. Hundreds were made and they still surface in estates. We buy them and say plainly what they are, but they are not priced as Patek Philippe watches.
Is a Patek Philippe pocket watch in an American case original?
Often, yes. Many Patek movements sold in the United States arrived with their dials and were cased here by American case makers for the agent or jeweler who sold them. A case made when the watch was first sold is part of the original watch. We check when the case was made before calling anything recased.
Do you buy Patek Philippe pocket watches that do not run?
Yes. A Patek pocket watch that does not run is still a Patek, and many arrive after decades in a drawer. We examine the movement as it is and explain what its condition means for the offer. There is no need to have it serviced, cleaned or polished before you come in.
Do I need the box or papers to sell a Patek pocket watch?
No. Most antique Patek pocket watches lost theirs long ago, and we buy them without. On a modern Patek pocket watch, the original box, papers and any chain supplied with it are worth bringing because they complete the set. Either way, the watch itself is what we examine first.
Do you buy modern Patek Philippe pocket watches?
Yes. Patek Philippe still makes pocket watches in small numbers, hunter and open-face, with manually wound movements. We buy recent examples with or without their box and papers, and we price them as the modern watches they are rather than as antiques, because the buyers for the two are different people.
Do I need an appointment to sell a Patek Philippe pocket watch?
No. Walk in Monday to Friday from 10 AM to 5 PM or Saturday from 10 AM to 3 PM; we are closed Sunday. If you would like a first look before driving in from Long Beach, Santa Monica or Palos Verdes, text a photo of the dial and case to (310) 363-2697.
Can I sell a Patek pocket watch chain and other estate pieces too?
Yes. A watch chain, fob or the rest of an estate can be handled in the same visit as the Patek. Chains and fobs go to our gold jewelry buyers and coins to our gold and silver coin buyers, each itemized so you can see what every piece brought.
Ready to Sell Your Patek Philippe Pocket Watch?
Bring it to our Lawndale counter with no appointment, or text a photo first. We read the movement with you, then make an offer, and you are paid before you leave.
