Weather Report!

WET..WET..WET!!

Weather Report!

Good Looking Day n T.O.!! (view North from the office)

NICE OLD RUSSIAN SILVER BOX, CIRCA 1840

This came in to us a couple of days ago from an estate. At first glance it didn't have much appeal, being dented and blackened with age. I told my client that we would try to list it on eBay for her with a really low reserve of 99 cents and hope for the best. She agreed to what we suggested and we listed it a few days ago. I took the box and gave a good cleaning before I listed it which revealed some really nice old hallmarks. I wasn't sure of the origin but after some research I found that the box is actually quite a lot older than I thought (circa 1840) and was actually Russian (St. Petersburg), the maker seems to be 'R.B.'.

The box comes off in a couple of days and I'm sure will make some collector really happy. If you get a chance follow the link to our eBay auctions and take a look, it really is a nice piece that will probably sell for a fraction of it's fair market value!

click to visit our eBay auctions!

Weather Report!

Happy Thanksgiving to our American clients!! Hope the weather where you are is better than this (view from the office - taken Nov. 24th, 2005 @ 11:45a.m.).

ROLEX BUBBLE BACK WITH A GREAT STORY!!

WOW!! This watch came into our office today with a great story! A gentleman called us a few days ago to ask if we were interested in buying an old watch that he had and if so he asked when he could come in to show it to us. W explained that we were interested in buying all vintage wristwatches and that he could bring it in during our regular business hours. He said he would and also explained that the watch looked really old and had ROLEX written on the dial but he didn't know if it was actually was a Rolex or not. Anyway we told him to bring it in regardless and we would be happy to appraise it for him. TODAY, 10:00 a.m. --- A gentleman arrives at our office and explains that he was here to show us the watch that he had spoken with about over the phone a few days ago. He opened his bag to reveal a blackened gold small watch with only one strap attached to it. Right away I knew this was a ROLEX OYSTER PERPETUAL from the late 40's, so called BUBBLE BACK!

THE STORY---> He explained that his grandfather had owned a very large furniture store in Toronto that started in the 1930's and had become a big family run business. A few weeks ago they were in the process of moving the store to a new location, since had been in the same place for almost 75 years and thought it was time to expand. During the move the came upon an old couch in the attic that had been lying unused for the better part of 30 years. It once stood in the entrance to the store as display. In the process of clearing the contents of the store they brought this couch outside in hopes of maybe donating it to the poor, but after a few days outside with a note attached that read "TAKE ME -- I'M FREE!", nobody had taken it and now it was in even worse shape from the cold damp Canadian Fall weather. At last it was time to clean up and fill the dumpster they had rented with the last of the junk! It was time to put the lonely old (dirty) sofa to rest in the dumpster. He asked his friend to help lift the sofa up high enough to toss into the dumpster. It was heavy but they managed. As they tossed the heavy sofa in the cushions came tumbling off and to their surprise a little watch came out from under the cushions and fell to the ground!

It turns out that a customer probably in the 1950's sometime, had taken a seat on the couch in the store. As he sat down the pin that attaches the strap to the watch must have come loose and the watch slipped off his wrist and fell behind the cushions, where it lay for over 50 years untouched. Anyway it was a really nice story and our customer was surprised it was actually a ROLEX and what a vintage watch in this very nice condition was worth. Take a look at some of the other pics and you will see how clean and original this watch is. It's almost like it was preserved in a time capsule!!

Welcome!

Welcome to my new blog spot! I hope to talk a little everyday about buying, selling & trading high-end vintage wristwatches. We are dealers located in Toronto (Yorkville), Canada. We deal mostly in Rolex, Cartier & Patek Philippe wristwatches. We also deal in Fine Jewellery and diamonds. Visit our website at: www.mauriceltd.com.