A ticking watch is not a service report or a water-resistance test

A ticking watch has told you one thing

Watches are small, valuable and endlessly varied, which makes them both attractive and risky to resell. A watch can tick, keep running for a day and still be badly inaccurate, have a dead date function or a crown that does not seal. It can carry a "water resistant" marking on the case back and let water in the first time someone washes their hands. And with any branded watch, authenticity sits at the center of every pricing decision.

The careful approach is to separate what you have observed from what the markings tempt you to assume.

Step 1: Treat identity as a research question

Record and photograph:

• Dial: brand, model name, any text and markings.
• Case back: engravings, reference or model numbers, any serial numbers (keep serials private in your records).
• Case size: diameter without the crown, and lug-to-lug if you can measure it.
• Movement type, if you can establish it without opening the case: mechanical (hand-wound or automatic), quartz battery or solar.
• Bracelet or strap: material, clasp, number of links and any spare links.
• Box, papers and receipts, if any.

Do not treat a logo, a serial number or a box as a complete authentication. eBay's counterfeit item policy says sellers may list an item only if they are certain it is genuine. If an authenticity question remains for a branded watch, resolve it through appropriate expertise before you offer it, or pass.

Avoid opening an unfamiliar case or doing invasive work to find a more attractive reference. Scratches you add during research become damage you have to disclose.

Step 2: Describe operation without inventing a service history

Run through what you can safely observe, and record each item separately:

A running seconds hand does not establish accuracy, power reserve, date behavior or any other function. A battery change is not a service, so do not write "serviced" without a record of the actual work and who did it.

Worked example: two checks total 20 observed minutes

In the chosen example, you watch the movement for ten minutes, then come back later and watch for another ten. That is 20 minutes of actual observation. It is not continuous proof that the watch ran for the hours in between, and it says nothing about remaining life.

Fit needs its own measurement. A chosen seven-inch wearable circumference, measured around the inside of the closed bracelet, is not the same as a seven-inch open bracelet length. State your method and how many links are included, rather than promising a universal size.

Step 3: Keep water out of an uncertain test

A water-resistance marking describes how the watch was designed and tested when new. It does not tell you the current condition of the gaskets and seals in a used watch, especially one with an unknown history. Do not test by immersion, and do not promise a depth rating from appearance or markings.

If a qualified watch professional has tested the watch's water resistance or serviced it, describe that work only if it actually happened, with its scope and date. Otherwise, the honest line is "water resistance not tested; do not assume the original rating applies."

Step 4: Check the battery and shipping rules for this watch

Quartz watches usually contain a small battery; some contain lithium cells. USPS Publication 52 sets out rules for lithium batteries and for batteries installed in equipment, and they depend on configuration. Read the current rules for the actual watch you are shipping. Mechanical watches raise different packing questions, mainly protection from shock. The electronics guide covers battery-powered items more broadly.

Step 5: Price the watch you can actually support

Use sold comparisons for the same model, reference and configuration: with or without box and papers, on the original bracelet or not, in a similar condition. A watch with an unresolved authenticity question has no valid branded comparison at all. The authenticity guide explains why the evidence comes before the discount, and the condition descriptions guide helps with wording.

Pack watches in a small box, cushioned so they cannot move, inside a larger shipping box. Protect the crystal and keep the bracelet from scratching the case.

Common mistakes:

• Writing "works perfectly" after a few minutes of ticking.
• Repeating the case-back water-resistance rating as a guarantee.
• Calling a battery change a service.
• Listing a branded watch you are not certain is genuine.

A watch listing should tell the buyer what is known, not what its markings tempt you to assume. Price the supported model, fit and condition after resolving the material uncertainties.