A manufacture name, a $9.99 opening bid, and a listing title that tells you almost nothing — which is precisely why it is worth reading.
Verdict
| What it is | Vintage Girard-Perregaux mechanical wristwatch, 17 jewels, stainless steel case |
| Price | $9.99 opening bid, 0 bids when spotted (Mon Oct 26, evening PT) |
| Where | ShopGoodwill auction #281860831 — ends Sun Nov 1, 6:34 PM PT |
| The angle | A manufacture name hiding under the plainest listing title on the internet |
| Verdict | Worth watching to the close. Bid like it needs a full service — because it might. |
Photo: ShopGoodwill listing (seller: Goodwill of North Georgia). The listing image is low-resolution and the dial reads small — judge condition from the listing's full photo set before bidding.
What it is
Start with what the listing doesn't say. No model name, no reference, no era, no statement that it runs — just a vintage Girard-Perregaux, hand-wound, 17 jewels, in a stainless steel case with a silver dial. That is not a thin listing. That is the whole opportunity: this is how a manufacture ends up at a $9.99 opening bid with nobody watching.
Girard-Perregaux is one of the old Swiss houses — founded 1791, maker of the Tourbillon with Three Gold Bridges, and the firm behind the first high-frequency mechanical movement sold at scale. Its mid-century mechanicals don't carry the name premium of the era's bigger brands. On the open market they trade hands quietly. In a Goodwill auction titled like a spare-parts lot, they can trade for almost nothing.
Why it matters
Most vintage value on ShopGoodwill is hidden by exactly this: a correct but uninformative title, no running statement, photos doing all the work. The buyers who find these pieces are the ones willing to read a plain listing closely. A 17-jewel Swiss mechanical from a real manufacture, in steel rather than a plated case, is the kind of object that rewards that reading.
Specs
| Brand | Girard-Perregaux |
| Movement | Mechanical (hand-wound), 17 jewels |
| Case | Stainless steel |
| Dial | Silver |
| Model / reference | Not stated in listing |
| Case size | Not stated in listing |
| Running condition | Not stated — assume a service may be needed |
| Seller | Goodwill of North Georgia (Norcross, GA) |
| Shipping | ~$13.76 estimated |
What to check before bidding
- Running state is unstated. The listing does not say it runs. Price your bid as purchase + a full service, not purchase alone.
- Read the photos, not the title. Dial condition, handset, crown, and case edges are only visible in the listing's photo set — and the photos are soft. If the dial can't be judged, cap the bid accordingly.
- No model or reference is given. Don't bid a specific-reference price (e.g. a Gyromatic premium) on an unidentified watch.
- As-is platform. ShopGoodwill items are untested and sold as-is. There is no returns safety net for a non-runner.
- Total cost. ~$13.76 shipping plus the platform's handling applies on top of the hammer price.
Price record
| Spotted | Mon Oct 26, 2026, evening PT |
| Bid at pull | $9.99 — 0 bids |
| Auction ends | Sun Nov 1, 2026, 6:34 PM PT |
| Hammer price | — to be updated after Nov 1 — |
Want one?
- In the shop: browse current stock — one-off pieces, and they turn over fast.
- Hunting one? Join the Want List — tell us the maker and the budget; pieces like this surface in our trawl most weeks.
- This one: bid at the source — See it at ShopGoodwill — item 281860831 (auction ends Sun Nov 1, 6:34 PM PT). Not our listing. See Disclosure.
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Spotted, not sold by us — this piece lives at a ShopGoodwill auction listing. Prices are a snapshot from when we spotted it; auctions move.. Disclosure
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