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My wife collects mechanical wristwatches. But since we aren't millionaires, she buys them in bulk lots online. Most times she'll get an interesting or semi-valuable watch or two. Usually broken or damaged in some way, but often within her ability to repair.
So. One day her watch haul included a double hunter pocketwatch whose maker's mark we weren't familiar with - "JW Benson". And inside the case was the text "Watchmaker by warrants to the Queen and the Prince of Wales."
Between those two, we managed to deduce that it had been manufactured sometime around 1880 (+/- a couple years. The company was bombed in WWII and a lot of records burned. IIRC, we had narrowed it to like a five year span, but the exact dates couldn't be determined beyond that)
Anyway. That watch - which still runs - is probably the oldest thing.
That's pretty awesome. For someone who knows nothing of the subject, is there much value in something like that?
There can be, but this one has a busted face and some other cosmetic damage. The mechanism still works fine, but this particular watch isn't really gonna be worth anything to anyone but us.
Other watches she's repaired have been worth up to a few hundred dollars. ...Which actually isn't that much for watches. At the high end, the really bonkers shit can cost over 100K. These sorts of watches are hand built by master craftsmen and take a really long goddamn time to make (hence the price). But they tend to be absolutely gorgeous and marvels of mechanical engineering.
So, as watches go, she's paddling about in the shallows, repairing things like the odd Tissot or Omega, which can be valuable-ish. But usually sub-200, occasionally up to $600-700.