Although I’m not a collector of pocket watches, I’m actually learning a lot about the watch as I get several appraisal request mostly about antique pocket watches. I must admit there are more historical backgrounds for those types of watches and it fascinates me.

This watch is from Erol here is the email:

Hi…could you please review my pocket watch. All I know it is from 1800’s made for Ottoman Empire market. Inside mechanism is made by Billodes. I would love to have more information about it.

Thank you

After receiving the email I tried to access the official website of Billode which is out of order at the moment.  I suppose it is not active here is the url just in case: http://www.billodes.ch. The website is in French as it is a Swiss made watch. So I went to Ebay to find watch sellers that might offer the watch and there is a watch store that offer Ottomans starting at $500 a watch.

As I didn’t receive a serial number I’m not sure of the exact model to look for. There is a website that display several Billode pocket watch collections here

My conclusion is that this watch is very valuable for its history and it seems the seller or collector could get $xxx for the watch.

Would you like to show off your watch? I’ve decided to create a watch collectors club photo group over at Flickr.com. It is free to join and really easy to upload pictures of your watches. This would could be beneficial for you in case another collector finds a watch interesting and maybe offer to buy it. And vice versa! It is good for everyone. I’ve added 6 photos from my collection and I have a link to the rest of my watches which some are displayed in this website and more on the way.

Head over to the Watch Collectors Club Photos and join the group! Be sure if you don’t have it already to download the Flickr photo pc/mac uploader to send it easy from your computer!

Please make any comments on any watch. I’ll be posting an appraisal request that I received today!

http://www.flickr.com/groups/watchcollector

Well I’m trying to decide myself which watch to buy next. My faithful Nike Traix 80 heart rate monitor watch died underwater. It was already old, but I went swimming and actually forgot to take it off and it was filled with water. By the time I got back home I even forgot to take it apart right away. I waited a day. So you know the story of that, its gone. I have a video of me taking apart the Nike watch.

So now my next question is what type of sports watch should I look to purchase next? Lately, in the Wired magazine I saw a review of four GPS watches. The top brands are: Polar RS800G3, Garmin Forerunner 405, Sportline Solo 960 and the Suunto t6c. The best pick for Wired seemed to be Polar RS800G3 GPS watch for the value and features. I actually like Polar watches especially for their heart rate monitor lines and the fact that is made in Finland, where I lived for 3.5 years. The Finns are top in terms of technology of sport and fitness. Not just mobile phones which was founded after the Polar Brand.

POLAR RS800G3 RS800 G3 RS 800 HEART RATE MONITOR WATCH US $469.27 (0 Bid) End Date: Friday Jul-25-2008 6:07:36 PDT Bid now | Buy it now | Add to watch list