Hello Kyle,
Thank you for sending in this Tourneau wristwatch to mearto.com for an appraisal. I shall try my best to help you with that today.
TITLE:
Ladies 14k yellow gold and diamond, self-winding, quartz wristwatch with 14k gold chain-mailles link bracelet, made in Switzerland for the retailer, Tourneau Jewelers, NYC, USA Circa 1970-1980s.
DESCRIPTION:
CASE – This is a tonneau shaped, two leaf, 14k yellow gold ladies watch case with the bezel and lugs set with a total 38 round cut diamonds of varying sizes, fluted gold crown and snap-open case back cover marked for 14k gold and the trademark of Tourneau. The inside of the cover is not seen. The watch is integrated with a 14k yellow gold “chain-mailles” link bracelet with gold fold over clasp. The clasp has the 14k gold mark and the bracelet maker, ‘A+P’, perhaps Austin & Paul, known to be one of the Swiss jewelers who supplied parts to Tourneau. (Tourneau worked out of their various offices in the USA but they had a plant and offices in Geneva as well where they marketed their own brands and many others, as is well known. They did not make watches. They marketed and sold them.)
DIAL – This is a cushion shaped, silvered guilloche dial with Arabic enameled 12 and 6 with diamond chips at the balance of the hours. There are steel tapered ‘Epee’ or ‘Sword’ shaped hands with the dial marked ‘Tourneau’ above and ‘Swiss below’.
MOVEMENT – Not shown but I am going to guess that the movement is a standardized Swiss quartz example, especially if this watch dates between 1970-1990, the Quartz era. Prior to that era the movement would be mechanical and supplied to Tourneau to use under their own brand name. Some of the companies that supplied watches and/or movements were Austin & Paul, Oscar Waldan, Belair and later in the 20th century the large firm of ETA supplied their movements from 1975-1983.
CONDITION:
Case – There are a moderate amount of scratches but they are primarily on the back cover of the watch case and not on the façade of the bracelet or case. I do not think there are any missing diamonds.
Dial – Beautifully arranged, balanced and the slightly bluish color is set off against a similar hue from the diamonds around the bezel.
Movement – Not seen and could not be properly evaluated, but will assume the movement is genuine, original to this case and functioning.
HISTORY:
Tourneau had over a century of expertise as the preeminent purveyor of fine watches, striving to deliver a first class customer experience. As the largest authorized watch retailer in the United States, Tourneau had stores nationwide after the first main retail store in midtown NYC. The Tourneau family emigrated from Paris to New York City in 1924 and opened a small dressmaking shop, with a watch counter, in the Berkshire Place Hotel. This location subsequently becomes the future site of the “Tourneau Corner” store at 500 Madison Avenue. They followed this with the company's first full shop at Madison Avenue and 49th Street in 1930. In 1940 a second location was founded in the Pennsylvania Hotel across from Penn Station. The first west coast store was opened during the 1990s in the South Coast Plaza mall in Costa Mesa. During this time they had an office in Switzerland (Geneva) for marketing watches both under their own name as well as marketing and retailing other brands (I believe they eventually dealt with 800 different Swiss brands).
COMPARABLES:
~https://www.barnebys.com/realized-prices/lot/gold-18k-tourneau-ladies-diamond-encrusted-watch-40-65-total-dwt-44bIa8oqfn ($2400)
Gold 18K Tourneau ladies' diamond encrusted watch; 40.65 total dwt. Mother of Pearl dial with pave diamond bow design bezel, 10mm quilted embossed link bracelet band stamped A+P 18K. Total of 59 diamonds. 7/8"dia. (Sold in 2015)
~https://www.barnebys.com/realized-prices/lot/ladies-tourneau-diamond-14k-yellow-gold-wristwatch-2S2Il9jku ($2500)
Ladies Tourneau Diamond, 14k Yellow Gold Wristwatch. Featuring a mother-of-pearl dial, accented by a diamond bezel and sapphire cabochons on the lug. A quartz battery movement and measuring approximately 7 1/2 inches in length. {Gross Weight: 32.2 dwts} Note: Back missing. (Sold in 2018)
~https://www.barnebys.com/realized-prices/lot/a-diamond-and-14-karat-gold-lady-s-surprise-watch-i11gQqBG7N ($600)
A Diamond and 14 Karat Gold Lady's Surprise Watch. Yellow gold bracelet with a white gold and diamond lift top cover which opens to a Tourneau watch with 17 jewel movement. Length: 6.75" Wt: 26.3 grams (sold in 2016)
~https://www.barnebys.com/realized-prices/lot/tourneau-ladies-14k-gold-diamond ($1500 in 2015)
TOURNEAU LADIES 14K GOLD DIAMOND BRACELET WATCH Swiss quartz movement, round mother of pearl dial with Roman quarter hours, diamond pave bezel and barrel lugs, sapphire cabochon terminals, ca. 1990. Brick-link bracelet, 6 1/2 - 6 3/4, 21.9 mm. 31.1 dwt. GW
~https://www.barnebys.com/realized-prices/lot/tourneau-18kt-yellow-gold-2-00ctw-diamond-ladies-watch-z7pcw_j-y ($5000 in 2016)
One ladies, cast & assembled Tourneau wristwatch electronically tested 18KT yellow gold, Case: 23 x 22mm, Crown: scalloped, Bezel: diamond set, Crystal: synthetic sapphire. Swiss Movement: six jewel quartz, Dial: mother of pearl, pointed hands, indices and diamond markers, Link Bracelet: 18KT yellow gold, Condition: G-6 Extra Fine. Six inch length. Containing: Twenty Four prong & channel set round brilliant & baguette cut diamonds, approximate total weight = 2.00ct. Set & graded in the bezel. Clarity VVS-2 to VS-2. Color: F - H. Total Weight of Diamonds 2.00ct. Total Weight of Watch 62.67gm. AIG Appraised at $15,100.00.
~https://www.barnebys.com/realized-prices/lot/gold-18k-tourneau-ladies-diamond-encrusted-watch-40-65-total-dwt-44bIa8oqfn (sold for $2400 in 2914, similar to client’s watch)
~https://www.barnebys.com/realized-prices/lot/tourneau-new-york-made-circa-1999-fine-14k-yellow-gold-and-diamonds-lady-s-quartz-wristwatch-with-an-integrated-14k-yellow-gold-bracelet-a-mailles-Jf6AHQfKHN Tourneau, New York. Engraved on the case back "Rita Moreno 1999” Moreno donated this watch for auction. Fine, 14K yellow gold and diamonds lady's quartz wristwatch with an integrated 14K yellow gold bracelet "à mailles. (Sold for $2760 back in 2005)
PRICING:
After looking at all of these wristwatches, I believe your example, if sold on the watch market (not into the gold or diamond market where the watch would be destroyed) would bring in the range of $2300-$2700 at auction today. Retail prices would of course be somewhat higher depending on the retailer, especially if the retailer was Tourneau!
I hope this has been of some help to you today. Thank you once again for using mearto.com for this appraisal.
My best,
David