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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;PaulBD, post: 836469, member: 11378&quot;]Just a pennyworth....</p><p><br /></p><p>Before the crisis of 2008-12, watch movements alone here were fairly rare. Almost all were in their original 18ct (almost all French gold watches are / were 18ct) or silver cases.&nbsp; Then the price of gold and to a lesser extent, silver, shot up.</p><p><br /></p><p>Over the past 10 years or so, I have seen a vast loss of heritage that our descendants will curse us for one day I suspect. People here have been buying later 18C -mid 19C watches in 18ct gold and meting down the cases for scrap. As antique watch prices have fallen and fallen, many now are worth more in scrapping the case and selling the movement separately, than they are as a whole unit. It&#039;s only where the watch has a higher value (usually meaning earlier-mid 18C) that the scrap value equation doesn&#039;t work and the watch survives intact.</p><p><br /></p><p>It&#039;s a tragedy. I know several professionals who buy and scrap watches, proudly proclaiming they can make $30-$50 &quot;clear profit&quot; by doing so. I&#039;ve seen 200+ year old pieces, dozens and dozens of them, lost to this - all for the sake of a few dollars/euros/pounds. I have no idea how many older pieces have been lost for this reason - certainly thousands and thousands I suspect.</p><p><br /></p><p>Worse, the auctions and clearances are now bulging with bags and boxes of nice old watch movements on their own, that have little or no value. Their cases have long since been melted down.&nbsp; Some are kept for spares, some have a little value if they&#039;re by a bigger name or have complications.</p><p><br /></p><p>I accept a buyer&#039;s right to do what they want with their items - no controversy intended but for me, as a sentimentalist, it is still sad.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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