question on hand turned pocket watch

[penmaker1967]

hi not sure if this in the right place but here it goes i have started doing some pocket watches mostly have been doing them for gifts of family members but now i would like to try selling a few has anyone on here done them and if so what kind of price should i put on them. i will be taking them to the craft shows that i do duyring the year.
thanks for the info

 

[holmqer]

I've never made one, what is the material cost, and how long does it take you to make them (just labor time not time to wait for things like finishes to cure) ?

 

[W.Y.]

I have not made any for about six years now.
When I was making them, they turned out to be a hard sell mainly for the fact that few people are interested in carying a pocket watch and chain in this day and age.
I know the price of the clock insert has gone up considerably since then and likely the gold chain etc. has gone up. I can't even remember where I got those hardware parts anymore.

I finally cleared out half a dozen of them for $20.00 each which isn't much when considering the price of the hardware .

Hopefully you will have a lot better luck than I did and if you are in a more highly populated area than I am in you might do real good.
Best of luck to you and please show pictures of some of them.

 

[OOPS]

I would agree that they are a tough sell. Watch manufacturers are complaining that since the popularity of cell phones, the sales of men's wrist watches are WAY down. Based upon this information, I would think that even fewer people would be interested in adding a bulky watch to their pocket. However, smaller watch inserts are available and I was thinking that perhaps small pendant watches might be of interest to the ladies. Haven't done any research on that, so I don't have anything concrete to tell you there.

 

[ren-lathe]

I have sold a couple over the years.I do not think they are carried both of these went to collectors.