Used gold watches in Edinburgh typically sell for £60 to £600 (about $81 to $810). There are really two markets here — watches valued as timepieces and watches valued as gold — and knowing which yours belongs to sets the price.
Selling a gold watch in Edinburgh
Edinburgh is a university and finance city whose population swells enormously every August for the festival, and that single month does more to move second-hand goods here than any other part of the year. Outside it, the Old and New Town tenement stock means most people live in flats and buy furniture to fit them.
August brings a large temporary population that arrives with things and leaves without them, and September brings the students. Between them the autumn is reliably the best time to buy here and a slower time to sell.
The Old Town is steep, cobbled and awkward for vehicles, with restricted access on several streets, so anything heavy needs a conversation about where a van can actually stop. Trams and buses cover the rest of the city and handle small handovers fine.
Check vehicle access before agreeing to collect anything heavy from the Old Town. Several streets are restricted or effectively impassable for a van, and the nearest legal stopping point can be a long carry.
Handing it over in Edinburgh
Most private sales settle by bank transfer or cash on collection. Faster Payments clear in seconds, which makes a transfer as safe as cash for the seller — wait for it to land before the item leaves your hands.
What gold watches are worth
What lifts the price
- A recognised maker with an established service history
- Original box, papers and bracelet
What pulls it down
- Gold plating worn through at the lugs and bracelet edges
- A non-running movement, which buyers price as a service cost
Working out what yours is worth
- Look for hallmarks inside the case back or on the lugs
- Wind or wear it for a day and check how much time it gains or loses
Getting it ready
- Weigh the watch and note whether the bracelet is also gold, since that can be most of the weight.
- Wind or start it and check it runs and keeps time over a day, and note the movement type if the caseback states it.
Photograph
- The watch face straight on, in daylight
- The watch on a scale with the weight visible
Put in the description
- Whether the case is solid gold or plated, with the hallmark or marking quoted
- Brand, model and movement type: manual, automatic or quartz
High value in a small parcel. Confirm cleared funds before it leaves you, use tracked and insured postage, and photograph the watch and the sealed packaging.
Listing is free and there is no selling fee, so the whole amount the buyer pays stays with you. You and the buyer agree the handover between yourselves.
Same region (Scotland)
Common questions
Where can I sell a gold watch in Edinburgh?
Put it on WishThrift free and deal with the buyer direct. The Old Town is steep, cobbled and awkward for vehicles, with restricted access on several streets, so anything heavy needs a conversation about where a van can actually stop. Trams and buses cover the rest of the city and handle small handovers fine.
Is it solid gold or plated?
Photograph the hallmark and say exactly what it reads. This is the whole basis of the price and buyers will not proceed without it.
How much is a gold watch worth in Edinburgh?
Most used gold watches change hands for £60 to £600 (about $81 to $810). Condition and completeness move that figure more than anything else.
More: selling a gold watch across the United Kingdom, what gold watches are worth, everything second hand in Edinburgh, or Jewellery & Watches in Edinburgh.
Guide range converted from sterling at the 2 August 2026 rate, not a quote — sellers set their own price.