Updated! Found a 14k Gold Men's Wrist Watch! Omega Constellation Chronometer.

[FreeBirdTim]

Nice day today, so I went back to an area where I recently found a matron head large cent. The ground has completely thawed now, so I was able to dig all signals. Got a low 70's signal around 4 inches deep and dug out a men's wrist watch. Really toasted face and the crystal was missing, but the case was in decent shape. Thought it might be made of brass, but I wasn't positive. Cleaned it up at home and saw that it was an Omega Constellation chronometer watch! Didn't get too excited because there are so many counterfeit watches around now. Managed to remove the back and it was nasty looking inside! Scraped the rust off the back of the case and saw "14k and 0.585"! My first gold watch! Tested it with my gold kit and it's definitely 14k! The case and back weigh 19.45 grams, which has a current melt value of $1088.88! What a haul! The crystal is missing, so I'm going to go back tomorrow and see if I can find it. I know exactly where I dug it because it was next to a small tree trunk. Great start to the 2025 season!

 

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[FreeBirdTim]

Got some more info about the watch from the Omega watch forum. Their best guess is the watch was made from 1963 to the early 1970's. Hard to pinpoint the exact year bacause the serial number has been obliterated from the rust.

Also cleaned it up some more, so now the weight is down to 19.33 grams. Still worth about $1,100 melt value as of today...

 

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[Trezurehunter]

Looks like its "time" to celebrate with that one ! Great find.

 

[metalman2024]

Thanks, guys! I went looking for large cents and got a 20th century gold watch! That's what makes this hobby so great. You never know what you're going to find. Cross contamination is really bad in this area. Full of pull tabs and can slaw, so I usually don't dig anything less than 70 on my AT Pro. Just got lucky that the copper and brass innards gave it a higher VDI.

Now if I could only find the crystal. It must have a gold rim on it! I'll keep going there, but the odds aren't great to find something with that small amount of gold on it. Hope springs eternal...

True completely

Got some more info about the watch from the Omega watch forum. Their best guess is the watch was made from 1963 to the early 1970's. Hard to pinpoint the exact year bacause the serial number has been obliterated from the rust.

Also cleaned it up some more, so now the weight is down to 19.33 grams. Still worth about $1,100 melt value as of today...

View attachment 2198329

gold it speaks for itself

 

[FreeBirdTim]

Sent my 14k watch case to a gold refinery in Colorado yesterday. They're going to pay me 91% of melt, which is $996.00! They should receive it by Tuesday and confirm my payment then. It may be slightly less than that amount, since there was still a small amount of rust on it. Not a bad payday!

 

[tamrock]

Heck of a find. I'd say as a solid gold case for a vintage Omega it be worth more than its weight in gold. I'd be looking for another salvageable Omega online that has a beat up gold-filled case and okay looking dial and bumper auto movement to drop in it.

 

[AU Seeker]

Heck of a find. I'd say as a solid gold case for a vintage Omega it be worth more than its weight in gold. I'd be looking for another salvageable Omega online that has a beat up gold-filled case and okay looking dial and bumper auto movement to drop in it.

I think he did the right thing selling it for scrap, when he first posted this I did a search for this watch and found several, many of them were for sale for less than he got for this case.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

I did get an offer for slightly more than scrap value from someone on the Omega watch forum, but I damaged the threads on the back case when I put it in a vise and pried it open! Dumb, yes, but I really thought it was a counterfeit and not a gold case. It also had a lot of scratches and didn't have the trademark Geneva observatory on the back. Some came that way, but not having the logo decreases the value of the case quite a bit.

 

[tamrock]

I did get an offer for slightly more than scrap value from someone on the Omega watch forum, but I damaged the threads on the back case when I put it in a vise and pried it open! Dumb, yes, but I really thought it was a counterfeit and not a gold case. It also had a lot of scratches and didn't have the trademark Geneva observatory on the back. Some came that way, but not having the logo decreases the value of the case quite a bit.

Either way, it's a find that would put a big smile on any treasure hunter. 🤑

 

[pepperj]

Sent my 14k watch case to a gold refinery in Colorado yesterday. They're going to pay me 91% of melt, which is $996.00! They should receive it by Tuesday and confirm my payment then. It may be slightly less than that amount, since there was still a small amount of rust on it. Not a bad payday!

Good amount for the gold value for the case.
Now you can go buy a proper detector with the proceeds. 🤣

 

[FreeBirdTim]

Now you can go buy a proper detector with the proceeds.

Buy a new detector after my trusty AT Pro finds a gold watch? Where's your loyalty, man? Lol!

 

[E-Trac-Ohio]

Buy a new detector after my trusty AT Pro finds a gold watch? Where's your loyalty, man? Lol!

The best Metal Detector made is the one the operator is very, very familiar with.

 

[Blak bart]

🫡🫡 congrats!! Awsome find !!

 

[xr7ator]

I've found more gold with my AT Pro than any other machine by far.
yes, I've used it more than the others, by far.
Sweet pay day on the glitter, Tim.

 

[ArfieBoy]

Congratulations on a fantastic find! What a great payoff. Thanks for sharing with us all.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

Very stressful 6 days waiting for UPS to deliver my watch case to the gold refinery, but it finally arrived there last Wednesday. They gave me an offer the same day! Final price was $985.50! Money was in my checking account on Friday. Great company that even paid the UPS charge for shipping and insurance.

Hopefully, my gold fever will go away soon and I can get back to hunting for colonial relics! Lol!

 

[ToddsPoint]

Very stressful 6 days waiting for UPS to deliver my watch case to the gold refinery, but it finally arrived there last Wednesday. They gave me an offer the same day! Final price was $985.50! Money was in my checking account on Friday. Great company that even paid the UPS charge for shipping and insurance.

Hopefully, my gold fever will go away soon and I can get back to hunting for colonial relics! Lol!


View attachment 2200099

Can you post the name of the gold buyer? I’m surprised it’s not shown on their lab report. I have a plastic tube of gold dust. It’s leftover scrap from gold inlaying guns. About 40 yrs worth. It’s good to hear you think they are a trustworthy company. I’ve always been hesitant to send it in to unknown scrappers.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

I'll have to ask the mods if it's okay to post the name of the gold refiner? Don't want to get into trouble here!

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

I'll have to ask the mods if it's okay to post the name of the gold refiner? Don't want to get into trouble here!

You can post it Tim...

 

[FreeBirdTim]

Thank you! They have great feedback on Trustpilot, so that's why I went with them. The company is called reDollar.

https://www.redollar.com/

 

[ToddsPoint]

Thank you! They have great feedback on Trustpilot, so that's why I went with them. The company is called reDollar.

https://www.redollar.com/

Thanks Tim!