Sell an Audemars Piguet Pocket Watch in Los Angeles
Sell a vintage Audemars Piguet pocket watch to a counter that reads the movement, not just the name on the dial. Retailer-signed, coin-cased or stopped, it is looked at in person and paid for before you leave.
Where to Sell an Audemars Piguet Pocket Watch in LA
If you want to sell an Audemars Piguet pocket watch in Los Angeles, you will notice that almost every watch buyer on the first page of results is built around the Royal Oak. Their forms and price tables are made for wristwatches, with no box to tick for a watch that hangs on a chain. South Bay Coin is a licensed, bonded and insured California dealer in Lawndale that has bought watches, coins and precious metals from the public since 1980, and an AP pocket watch sits where all three meet.
The pocket watches Audemars Piguet made are different objects from the watches it sells today. The firm began in Le Brassus, in the Vallée de Joux, in 1875, building complicated movements, and for decades much of what it made reached buyers through established jewelers and retailers in New York, Paris, London and Zurich rather than under its own name alone. That history decides how an old AP pocket watch has to be read, and it is why the first question at our counter is whose name is on it, and where.
The watch is looked at in person, with you watching. The dial, the case and the movement are each checked for a signature, the offer is explained out loud, and you are paid before you leave. It is the same counter that handles our luxury watch buying in Los Angeles, so a pocket watch that arrives in an estate lot with a wristwatch or two is dealt with in one visit.
Sellers bring these pieces in from Torrance, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, Palos Verdes and across the South Bay, usually from a family estate. South Bay Coin is a member of the NAWCC, the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors, as well as IWJG, GIA and JBT.
Audemars Piguet Pocket Watch Buyer Near Me in Lawndale
South Bay Coin
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How Much Is an Audemars Piguet Pocket Watch Worth?
The honest first answer is that it depends on what the watch is, and with an Audemars Piguet pocket watch that question starts earlier than it does with any wristwatch. The maker's own heritage archive records that before the 1970s its watchmakers ordered dials signed by other houses and assembled them in Le Brassus, and that retailers such as Tiffany, Cartier, Gübelin and Bulgari often signed or co-signed the watches they sold.
So an estate pocket watch can reach a counter in three states. It may be signed Audemars Piguet on the dial, the case and the movement. It may be co-signed, with the maker's name beside a retailer's. Or it may carry only the retailer's name on the dial and case, with Audemars Piguet visible nowhere but on the movement. That third kind is the one most often sold for too little, because nobody in the family knew what it was. If the Tiffany or Cartier piece in the drawer turns out to be jewelry rather than a watch, our designer jewelry buying desk handles it in the same visit.
The reverse happens too: a plain Swiss movement in a case engraved with a famous name. A signature on the dial settles nothing by itself, which is why the movement is read before a figure is discussed.
Once the maker is settled, value turns on what the movement does (time only, a repeater, a chronograph, a calendar), the case metal, the condition of the dial, and whether dial, case and movement belong together. One honest caution: the ultra-complicated pieces behind the auction headlines, including the one Audemars Piguet bought back for its own museum in 2025, are not the yardstick for a slim dress pocket watch.
Sell an Audemars Piguet Coin Watch or Pendant Watch
Not every AP pocket watch looks like one. The best known surprise is the coin watch: a United States twenty dollar gold piece split through its edge, hollowed out and hinged, with a thin Audemars Piguet movement inside, opened by pressing a catch in the milled rim. Auction records place most of them in the 1960s and 1970s, with case, dial and movement all signed, and some also carrying the name of the Swiss jeweler that sold them.
A coin watch is exactly where a coin counter and a watch counter can give two different wrong answers. As a coin it has been cut, so a coin grade no longer applies. As gold, a scale reads the coin and ignores the watch inside it. It should be sold as an Audemars Piguet. South Bay Coin buys gold coins in Los Angeles every day and luxury watches at the same counter, so a coin watch is recognized for what it is the moment it is opened.
Other forms turn up as well. In the early 1980s the firm made an octagonal Royal Oak pendant watch in white gold, worn on a chain, and in the same decade it commissioned a small run of hand-made striking pocket watches sold through Asprey in London. The form has not been retired either: in 2026 Audemars Piguet introduced a platinum ultra-complicated pocket watch for its 150th anniversary. A pocket watch that looks too new to be an heirloom may be exactly what it appears to be.
Audemars Piguet Pocket Watches We Buy for Cash
We buy AP pocket watches from every period, running or stopped, in gold, platinum or silver, whether the dial carries the maker's name or a retailer's.
Sell a Retailer-Signed AP Pocket Watch
Dials and cases signed Tiffany, Cartier, Gübelin, Bulgari or a London or Zurich jeweler, with an Audemars Piguet movement inside. Co-signed pieces are read the same way.
Sell an Audemars Piguet Coin Watch
Twenty dollar gold coin watches with a hidden hinge and an AP movement, plus Royal Oak pendant watches and other pieces worn on a chain rather than carried in a pocket.
Sell a Complicated AP Pocket Watch
Minute and quarter repeaters, chronographs, split-seconds, perpetual calendars and ultra-thin dress pocket watches, open-face or hunter-cased, in gold, platinum or silver.
Sell a Stopped or Damaged AP Pocket Watch
Watches that no longer run, cracked enamel dials, missing crystals, dented cases and pieces with no box or papers. Condition changes the figure, not whether we buy.
How to Sell an Antique Audemars Piguet Pocket Watch
Bring Your AP Pocket Watch to Lawndale
Walk in at 16916 Hawthorne Blvd, no appointment needed. For a first opinion, text photos of the dial, the case back and the movement to (310) 363-2697.
Get a Free AP Pocket Watch Evaluation
We check whose name is on the dial, the case and the movement, what the movement does and its condition, and explain each finding out loud before any figure.
Get Paid for Your Pocket Watch Before You Leave
Accept the offer and you are paid at the counter by cash or check. Decline it and the watch goes home with you. Bring a valid photo ID.
AP Pocket Watch Buyer vs Auction Houses vs Mail-In Dealers
An old Audemars Piguet pocket watch usually goes to an auction house, a ship-in watch dealer, a coin counter or a buyer like us. Each does some things well. Two of the rows below are honest Nos in our own column.
| Feature | South Bay Coin | Auction Houses | Ship-In Watch Dealers | Coin Counters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sees the watch in person before any figure | Yes | Varies | No | Yes |
| Reads the movement signature, not only the dial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Rarely |
| Values a coin watch as a watch, not a coin | Yes | Yes | Varies | Rarely |
| Watch stays in your sight the whole time | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Paid before you leave | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Walk in with no appointment | Yes | No | No | Varies |
| Writes a printed catalogue description of your watch | No | Yes | No | No |
| Asks a co-signing retailer to confirm the dial | No | Varies | No | No |
Reviews From South Bay Vintage Watch and Estate Sellers
Questions About Selling Audemars Piguet Pocket Watches
Where can I sell an Audemars Piguet pocket watch in Los Angeles?
South Bay Coin buys Audemars Piguet pocket watches at our Lawndale counter, 16916 Hawthorne Blvd, six days a week with no appointment. The watch is looked at in person, each finding is explained out loud, and you are paid before you leave. Nothing is shipped, and nothing waits in a queue.
How much is an Audemars Piguet pocket watch worth?
It depends first on whose name is on it and what the movement does. A time-only dress pocket watch, a repeater and a grand complication sell in different markets. Case metal, dial condition and whether the dial, case and movement belong together come next. We name a figure only after seeing the watch.
Is a Tiffany pocket watch with an Audemars Piguet movement an AP?
Yes. Before the 1970s Audemars Piguet sold much of its work through retailers such as Tiffany, Cartier and Gübelin, who signed or co-signed the dial and case. The maker's name may appear only on the movement, so a retailer-signed pocket watch is still an Audemars Piguet and is bought as one.
What is an Audemars Piguet coin watch?
It is a watch hidden inside a United States twenty dollar gold coin. The coin is split through its edge, hollowed out and hinged, and a thin Audemars Piguet movement sits inside, opened by a catch in the rim. Most date from the 1960s and 1970s, with case, dial and movement all signed.
Is an Audemars Piguet coin watch worth more than the gold coin?
Usually, and it should never be priced as a coin. The coin has been cut, so a coin grade no longer applies, and its gold weight says nothing about the movement inside. We buy gold coins and luxury watches at the same counter, so a coin watch is valued as an Audemars Piguet.
Does Audemars Piguet still make pocket watches?
Yes, in small numbers. In the early 1980s the firm made an octagonal Royal Oak pendant watch and commissioned hand-made striking pocket watches sold through Asprey in London, and in 2026 it introduced a platinum ultra-complicated pocket watch for its 150th anniversary. A pocket watch that looks recent may be exactly that.
How can I tell if my Audemars Piguet pocket watch is real?
Look at the movement, not only the dial. On a genuine piece the movement is signed and finished to the standard of a fine Swiss maker, and it fits the case it sits in. A famous name engraved on a plain case over an ordinary movement is the usual fake. We check this with you present.
Does Audemars Piguet keep records of old pocket watches?
Yes. The firm's production registers run from 1882 and record a number for each movement, and its older registers describe each finished watch, sometimes including later changes to the dial. Those records stay with the brand. You do not need a document from them before selling, and we make offers without one.
Do you buy an Audemars Piguet pocket watch that does not run?
Yes. A stopped, damaged or incomplete AP pocket watch is still an Audemars Piguet, and we buy it as it is. A missing crystal, a cracked enamel dial or a dented case changes the figure, not whether we buy it. Bring any box or paperwork that came with the watch as well.
Do I need an appointment to sell a pocket watch at South Bay Coin?
No. Walk in Monday through Friday from 10 AM to 5 PM, or Saturday from 10 AM to 3 PM. For a first opinion before driving in from Torrance, Redondo Beach or Palos Verdes, text clear photos of the dial, case back and movement to (310) 363-2697. The offer itself is made in person.
Ready to Sell Your Audemars Piguet Pocket Watch?
Walk in to our Lawndale counter with no appointment, or text photos of the dial and movement for a first opinion. Free evaluation, paid before you leave.
