If you have inherited a watch, do not wind it straight away. First identify it (case back, papers, original box), then get an independent valuation rather than a buy-back offer, have it serviced if it has been stopped for years, and only then decide whether to wear it or keep it safely stored. Here is the order to follow.
1. Don't wind it straight away
It is the first reflex, and it is the wrong one.
A watch that has been stopped for several years has oils that have thickened or evaporated. Starting it again sets in motion parts that rub dry. Over a few minutes, this destroys nothing; over several days of running, it prematurely wears components that a service would have preserved.
There is no rush. The watch has waited; it can wait a few more weeks.
2. Identify what you have
Before doing anything else, gather three things.
The case. Turn the watch over: the case back often carries the brand, a reference and a serial number. Photograph it, even if the engravings are worn.
The papers. Warranty card, purchase receipt, service records. They make a radical difference to a watch's value and to how easily it can be maintained. Search the drawers before concluding they do not exist.
The original box. Even damaged, it counts.
With these three items together, you can talk to a watchmaker or an expert without starting from a position of weakness.
3. Get a valuation without being bought out
Beware of a common confusion: a valuation and a buy-back offer are not the same thing.
Many websites offer a "free valuation" that is in fact an offer to buy, inevitably below market value since the buyer has to make a margin. That is not dishonest; it is simply their business.
If you want to know the real value, go to an independent watchmaker or an auction house, and accept paying for that opinion. Also look at recent sales of comparable models on specialist platforms: that is the price a piece actually sells for, not the price it is listed at.
And ask yourself the question first: do you really want to sell?
4. Servicing: what it does and what it doesn't
A service means dismantling the movement, cleaning the components, replacing worn parts and gaskets, re-lubricating, then regulating. Allow several weeks without the watch, and a budget that depends entirely on the movement.
What it does not do: remove scratches from the case — polishing removes metal and can reduce the value of a vintage piece — or make a watch water-resistant again if it no longer was.
Always ask for a quote before any work, and ask for the replaced parts to be returned to you. If the watch has simply been sitting in a drawer, our guide to an automatic watch stopped for months explains the warning signs to look for.
5. Wear it or keep it
There is no right answer, only yours.
Wearing it means accepting that it carries on living, picking up marks and needing maintenance. Many people feel this is the best way to honour what has been handed down.
Keeping it means protecting it from knocks or loss. In that case, closed storage matters: in the open, dust gets in and a leather strap dries out. A watch box with a lid protects it for the long term, and if it is a single piece, a single-watch box is more than enough.
Either way, write down what you know of its story. That is what the person who receives it after you will miss most.