Swiss Watch found in 400 year old tomb

i guess we talk about past treasure hunters haha


[edit on 15-12-2008 by Japanese Gecko]

Absolutely. The story is great. Too great. No harm intended towards the OP. I think we'll be hearing of a simple explanation soon.

Pic from the article:



And here's an ad from a March 1938 edition of Modern Mechanix:



My guess is the tomb was visited by someone after 1938 to 1950 (approx), given the level of oxidation and dirt on the metal.

Here's more info on the article (scroll down for the watch article):

blog.modernmechanix.com...

It's safe to say other varying styles were made after the first ring-watch shown above.


[edit on 15/12/08 by Evasius]
Mod Note: Forum Image Linking Policy – Please Review This Link.

[edit on Sun Dec 21 2008 by Jbird]

This guy was swiss and has been involved and organised excavation in china - maybe he has already been to this site and ermm lost his watch??
talks.cam.ac.uk...


[edit on 15-12-2008 by MCoG1980]

ok suppose someone did find the tomb before the current archaelogist why didnt they go public with the discovery for credit/fame etc?

As a watchmaker with a paltry 30 yrs experience, I can attest that this piece is circa 1950-70 vintage. Besides that, what is the mechanism to distinguish AM from PM. Someone has obviously lost it or perhaps a rodent, "pack rat" found a quiet place to stash his loot and make a nest.....

It would seem to me that if this watch were a modern timepiece, a swiss watch being a little more significant than a wal-mart special, it would have some sort of numbering on it, as to identify it's model and perhaps even give a clue to it's date of production.

If it is a recent production, this would suggest it was planted.

What would really be freaky is if it would be found to have yet to be manufactured.

wait a minute now that you mention it that watch does look like a more recent model because of the rectangular shape like in the article posted above the older ones are circular....... time travelling archaelogist????

well now we know why the tombs are cleared out before the public gets to see them. wouldn't want anyone to know imotep is packin an ipod. and get that 52" plasma out of nebuchadnezzar's tomb before the cameras flash.

Nice publicity stunt for the Swiss watch makers, especially in times of financial crisis!

reply to post by Now_Then


Ming dynasty lasted up to 1644, making this 400 years ago.

reply to post by truthseeker9991


Maybe they found treasure!
Or a time machine

As long as they don't find Data's head in there I won't get too worried.

Actually it's my ring watch, I lent it to Titor and he said he lost it in a hotel room.

Originally posted by KaiBosh
As long as they don't find Data's head in there I won't get too worried.

Actually it's my ring watch, I lent it to Titor and he said he lost it in a hotel room.

haha data's head yeah i was thinking the same,interesting story that i hope doesn't turn out as a hoax.
Somebody could have lost it in the 1930's or something,what about some sort of markings saying a possible date??
Hope this leads to something special

There is no way way the watch is 400 years old. It's too small, that watch wouldve required intricate work with precision and tools not possible in the 17th century. In response to people saying the Swiss wouldnt have written in english, perhaps Swiss was a name, not a brand.

Anyway, I think someone else has been there since then.

reply to post by JustMike

As for it being hoax, it might be if the original report itself is a hoax and there is no such team of scientists who found a watch ring in a tomb. If, however, the report is accurate, it could mean that the scientists have been tricked. In that case, the story isn't a hoax but a report of an event that may turn out to be a hoax.
On the other hand, it just might be one of those odd things that will remain unexplained, either temporarily or permanently.

For some reason, your post reminded me of this quote:

Vizzini: But it's so simple. All I have to do is divine from what I know of you: are you the sort of man who would put the poison into his own goblet or his enemy's? Now, a clever man would put the poison into his own goblet, because he would know that only a great fool would reach for what he was given. I am not a great fool, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you. But you must have known I was not a great fool, you would have counted on it, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of me...

...You'd like to think that, wouldn't you? You've beaten my giant, which means you're exceptionally strong, so you could've put the poison in your own goblet, trusting on your strength to save you, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you. But, you've also bested my Spaniard, which means you must have studied, and in studying you must have learned that man is mortal, so you would have put the poison as far from yourself as possible, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of me...

reply to post by Frogs


To me, the image attached to the story looks more like a clay carving (or sculpture) rather than a working watch.

Cool concept however, and mind opening story.

Edit: Why isn't this story featured on Yahoo, Google, AOL News? They all like to post stories like these when they are retrieved from valuable news sources (the man on Mars for example). I only can find it hosted on conspiracy websites.

[edit on 12/16/08 by Yoda411]

reply to post by ag2000

Thank you for your response. I think your quote serves very well to express what I was saying. Yes, in simple terms, all our suppositions are just that...So we can only go around in circles and no definitive answer is possible.

But I do like articles like that one. It's nice to think of the various "what ifs".

Hmmm..I'll kill two posts with one stone here... Another poster asked why it was that if someone else had discovered the tomb earlier, why didn't they announce it and get the publicity? (Words to that effect.)

Answer: if they were tomb robbers, publicity is the last thing they want, especially in a country like China where they could face execution for stealing National treasures...

reply to post by Schmidt1989

Wikipedia:
Clock-watches: 1500

The first timepieces to be worn were transitional in size between clocks and watches.[21] These 'clock-watches' were fastened to clothing or worn on a chain around the neck. They were heavy drum shaped cylindrical brass boxes several inches in diameter, engraved and ornamented. They had only an hour hand. The face was not covered with glass, but usually had a hinged brass cover, often decoratively pierced with grillwork so the time could be read without opening. The movement was made of iron or steel and held together with tapered pins and wedges, until screws began to be used after 1550. Many of the movements included striking or alarm mechanisms. They usually had to be wound twice a day. The shape later evolved into a rounded form; these were called Nürnberg eggs. Still later in the century there was a trend for unusually shaped watches, and watches shaped like books, animals, fruit, stars, flowers, insects, crosses, and even skulls (Death's head watches) were made.

It should not be thought that the reason for wearing these early clock-watches was to tell the time. The accuracy of their verge and foliot movements was so poor, perhaps several hours per day, that they were practically useless. They were made as jewelry and novelties for the nobility, valued for their fine ornamentation, unusual shape, or intriguing mechanism, and accurate timekeeping was of very minor importance.[22]

[edit] Pocketwatches: 1600

Styles changed in the 1600s and men began to wear watches in pockets instead of as pendants (the woman's watch remained a pendant into the 20th century).[23] This is said to have occurred in 1675 when Charles II of England introduced waistcoats.

reply to post by JustMike


Thanks for amusing me...I am glad you didn't take any offense, as none was intended, to my post.

I find this topic very interesting. I grew up wanting to be an archaeologist, got my degree in the subject, but couldn't live off the meager pay...This strikes me as an item that came to be in the cave at a later date...But the possibilities are much more fun to think about!