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What is this Soldiers Watch 17 Jewel Heavy Glass Ball??

Hello, I purchased at an Estate Sale a small pocket watch - clock - maybe to hang in a glass case? It is about the size of a cue ball and is marked on the face Soldiers Watch Swiss Made 781 - very fancy colorful face - the case appears to be brass - it is very thick glass on the front and back so you can see the movement and jewels which is marked Movt India 17 Jewels, there is a small magnification area on the back so you can see the movement better. I know nothing about pocket watches or clocks but this one looks very unusual to me - I was told that it is quite old. Any help would be most appreciated, does this watch have any value? Thank you tracey
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What is this Soldiers Watch 17 Jewel Heavy Glass Ball??

gregoryswatches
Trailblazer
I've seen the watch you're describing. They're being sold by many of the Chinese sellers on eBay and are essentially modern fakes. They are not Swiss made and they are not old. They're manufactured in huge numbers for fake antiquities shops in China that prey on tourists. No collectible value.

Greg
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What is this Soldiers Watch 17 Jewel Heavy Glass Ball??

Thanks - live and learn!!
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What is this Soldiers Watch 17 Jewel Heavy Glass Ball??

so what is the value of these fakes?

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What is this Soldiers Watch 17 Jewel Heavy Glass Ball??

They have no value to speak of. Maybe 2 or 3 dollars as a novelty  but I doubt even that.

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What is this Soldiers Watch 17 Jewel Heavy Glass Ball??

The original "Soldier's Watches" were some of the first pocket watches to be massed produced during the mid nineteenth century. Prior to this time, all clocks and watches were individually fabricated by hand. These watches appeared just in the nick of time for the American Civil War, so they were expressly targeted for sale to the hundreds of thousands of civilian soldiers that that conflict generated, hence the name "Soldier's Watch."

 

Your watch would be a significant collectable if original and genuine, but as others have said, only an inexpensive curiosity coming from China. Still . . . I would place it under the category of "cool things.'  

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What is this Soldiers Watch 17 Jewel Heavy Glass Ball??

 
India and China are two different worlds 🙂
 
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What is this Soldiers Watch 17 Jewel Heavy Glass Ball??

possible reproduction India cca 1950
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