I know nothing about this watch other than what you see. It's on auction in Japan (not mine) with a $500 reserve. I doubt it will make it.

If anyone is interested in acquiring it, please contact me:glyndwr@gol.com

more pics ...

The watch has been re-listed at $500 reserve.

Apart from the auction and the price, does anyone find this watch interesting? What's the ballpark figure for one of these at auction?

I would think that in an ordinary European auction this watch should be going btw 150,- and 350,- USD in Japan of course this is a different story. Cortebert KM watches III Klasse I usually pick up at around USD 300,- plus.

From a perspective of it being a WW II British pocket watch it appears to be a run of the mill GSTP general issue watch that are plentifully available from all kinds of makers for greatly lower prices. I am not an expert on Corteberts and so I can not speak to any intrinsic "extra" value of this particular brand without the military connection. To the extent there an extra value for civilian versions of this brand - that is where I would put the bulk of its value. Would you pay $500 or more for a non-military version of this pocketwatch?

Although it’s a nice clean example of a GSTP - I would have to agree that it is way too expensive. The GSTP or GS/TP pocket watches are still in the bargain class of military timepieces.

Best regards,

Greg

Thanks for your input Oliver, Jim, Greg.

As I mentioned, I know nothing about this watch, but I thought it might be of some interest to military-watch collectors. The reserve of $500 may seem very high but the market in Japan is not in tune with the rest of the world. At auction, these high-reserve watches often do not sell and are relisted more than once. Then they often find a buyer. Sellers at auction here generally place a reserve and hold out for what they want, rather than 'starting them low and letting them go'. I would say that this practice is so common that those few sellers who bring European and American watches to the market here are reluctant to change the culture and start a price war.

I watch the auction market here fairly closely, in the hope of finding the odd gem. They do appear. Ordinary watches will fetch very high prices out of the buyer's ignorance of their market value elsewhere (for example on eBay), but that same ignorance leaves some interesting watches unnoticed and easily obtainable.

I don't want to fill this part of the message board with clutter, but I'll continue to post some of the military watches that are on auction in Japan in the hope that the occasional one could be of interest to someone. Please don't hesitate to comment, if you think that an item is run-of-the-mill ... we are all here to learn.

Keeping time in Tokyo ...