
Appraisal: Longines Aviator's Watch, ca. 1938
Clip: Season 29 Episode 17 | 1m 50sVideo has Closed Captions
Appraisal: Longines Aviator's Watch, ca. 1938
See Craig Evan Small appraise a Longines aviator's watch, ca. 1938, in Vintage San Jose, Hour 2.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Funding for ANTIQUES ROADSHOW is provided by Ancestry and American Cruise Lines. Additional funding is provided by public television viewers.

Appraisal: Longines Aviator's Watch, ca. 1938
Clip: Season 29 Episode 17 | 1m 50sVideo has Closed Captions
See Craig Evan Small appraise a Longines aviator's watch, ca. 1938, in Vintage San Jose, Hour 2.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipGUEST: My father is a retired doctor.
And many years practiced in Manhattan.
And has had a great love for watches and clocks for all his life.
He used to occasionally go to a pawn shop to see what was available.
And he picked this up at a pawn shop on Third Avenue.
APPRAISER: Do you know when he bought this watch?
GUEST: My best guess is about 30 years ago.
I think it's an aviator watch.
APPRAISER: This watch was designed by Charles Lindbergh after he flew across the Atlantic, and he worked with Longines to make a aviator's watch.
Do you understand why it's large like this?
GUEST: Because of dim lights in the cockpit?
APPRAISER: Well, in the 1930s, when this watch was made and used, there was no pressurization to planes.
So you would wear them on the outside of a jacket.
It was cold.
GUEST: Oh... APPRAISER: There was no pressurized plane, so it was very, very freezing cold in these planes.
So they would wear layers of clothes.
They might wear a jacket under a sweater and vest.
Most of the time these came with big straps.
They would put it here or over here so you could look at it as you were flying.
They did make a few different versions of this watch.
This is probably the most valuable version.
It's the largest version they made.
It's made strictly for flight.
There was other smaller versions that came out.
They made this watch from mid-'30s till probably around the war years in the '40s.
Do you have any idea what he paid for it?
GUEST: Actually, I do.
APPRAISER: Okay.
GUEST: He paid no more than $100.
APPRAISER: A hundred dollars, 30 years ago.
GUEST: 30 years ago.
APPRAISER: Okay.
A watch like this on the retail market today probably would run around $12,000.
It's a pretty rare watch.
There aren't many of them around.
And this is GUEST: Really?
APPRAISER: Yeah, one of the first ones I've seen in the last five or ten years.
It's really a great pleasure to have this great watch here.
GUEST: Thank you, my father's going to be pleased.
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