Swiss Watch Found in 400-Year Chinese Tomb

[StoneAgeQueen]

While some mysteries are occasionally solved, the majority tend to live on forever without the truth being revealed. One in the latter category concerns the recent discovery of a century-old Swiss watch discovered in an ancient Chinese tomb that has been sealed for more than 400 years.

Link to rest of story

[Stardrive]

Interesting story. I'm sure there's a logical explanation. One way this may have happened is that a small animal found the watch and carried it into the tomb. I would have a hard time believing it's evidence of time travel.

[Mac E]

Come on, this totally supports time travel! Seriously though, all they have to do is identify the manufacturer of the watch and the time frame in which it was manufactured. Then correlate it with any archeological digs in the area.

[chemical-licker]

Time travel is real?

[+HerNibs]

Time travel is real?

Duh! Have you never watched Harry Potter?

Time Turners

Nibs

[StoneAgeQueen]

Interesting story. I'm sure there's a logical explanation. One way this may have happened is that a small animal found the watch and carried it into the tomb. I would have a hard time believing it's evidence of time travel.

I don't believe it's Time travel either, but it's very interesting!

[The Silver Thong]

I bet it was probably lost there by grave robbers that pilfered the tomb years ago.

[~Onyx~]

The Swiss, they're EVERYWHERE!!! With they're chocolate, and they're Army Knives, and they're Robinson Family...

...Have they no sense of decency? I personally draw the line at 400 year old Chinese tombs.

[-Reborn-]

Thanks alot Onyx now I have coffee on my monitor... lol family Robinson

[Stormcrow]

Well, based on the first two paragraphs, there were no previous digs and the watch is estimated to be about a hundred years old.

Though, I am fascinated by time skips (not necessarily time "travel", which I think more implies a purposeful journey through time--like with Time Turners!). That'd be pretty nifty.

A small animal could be to blame, maybe a bird or something.

[DrawingPics]

That is very odd indeed. But we cannot be sure how sealed it is.

[eqgumby]

The picture looks like it is a ring. Is it a working "ring watch"? The article also states it (the ring-watch) is about 100 years old, and the tomb supposedly has not been opened for 400 years, right?

[MissMelsWell]

There are a thousand explanations as to why that ring watch was there. Either tomb robbers, or something as simple as a flood and it was washed into the tomb, or a bunch of other explanations. It's not time travel for sure. haha.

I collect Swiss watches and have a sizable collection I guess, many are modern, but I have one that looks almost identical to that one, but it is a wrist watch made by the Ravel company out of Geneva. Tiny tiny womens watches were very popular around 1890 to about 1925 or so. Many are so small they're nearly impossible to read the time on unless you have bionic vision. LOL. I think their estimation of the age is probably pretty accurate--about 100 years old. It might even be a Ravel. After looking at mine, it is stampled Swiss on the back. Of course, most Swiss watches are stamped either Swiss or Geneva on the back, along with a company logo or name, but my Ravel is just stamped Swiss, the face has the company name on it, and the crown has a little logo so tiny I can't see it, even with a 10x magnifying glass. LOL. It's a bitty little watch... and probably could be worn as a ring watch with a ring band.

The watch pictured is definitely a ladies ring watch, not a men's style--in any century.

Is it working? It could be depending on whether or not the gears and springs are rusted or broken. If they aren't, then there's no reason in the world why it would not work. My Ravel works, it's a wind-up like all watches of that period. The cases from Swiss watches at that time were pretty bulletproof, so I would not be surprised if it did work or would work with some cleaning.

Edited December 17, 2009 by MissMelsWell

[MARAB0D]

There are a thousand explanations as to why that ring watch was there. Either tomb robbers, or something as simple as a flood and it was washed into the tomb, or a bunch of other explanations. It's not time travel for sure. haha.

I collect Swiss watches and have a sizable collection I guess, many are modern, but I have one that looks almost identical to that one, but it is a wrist watch made by the Ravel company out of Geneva. Tiny tiny womens watches were very popular around 1890 to about 1925 or so. Many are so small they're nearly impossible to read the time on unless you have bionic vision. LOL. I think their estimation of the age is probably pretty accurate--about 100 years old. It might even be a Ravel. After looking at mine, it is stampled Swiss on the back. Of course, most Swiss watches are stamped either Swiss or Geneva on the back, along with a company logo or name, but my Ravel is just stamped Swiss, the face has the company name on it, and the crown has a little logo so tiny I can't see it, even with a 10x magnifying glass. LOL. It's a bitty little watch... and probably could be worn as a ring watch with a ring band.

The watch pictured is definitely a ladies ring watch, not a men's style--in any century.

Is it working? It could be depending on whether or not the gears and springs are rusted or broken. If they aren't, then there's no reason in the world why it would not work. My Ravel works, it's a wind-up like all watches of that period. The cases from Swiss watches at that time were pretty bulletproof, so I would not be surprised if it did work or would work with some cleaning.

Wow! You also collect watches! Have you been through Paul Bure? I got one automatic 1967 or 68 model - and cannot understand how the stainless back cover is made, cannot open. It seems to be neither pop-up nor screw-in - can it be vacuum? Someone tried to pop it up and chipped two bits of the brass from the casing...

The Swiss watch was probably taken to the tomb by some magpie or a rat, unless of course this was done by leprechauns or nibelungs.

[MARAB0D]

In 1541 in Geneva, there was a ban on flashy jewelry, so the idea of a watch/ ring might make some sense, as a watch was considered practical and essential. Still, there is no record anywhere of ring/watches being popular in Europe until after 1780, which only deepens the mystery.

The above from the article is plain stupid, as "Swiss" is a common inscription in late 19th and 20th century. In 1541 the watches, for the authors to know, were of a size of a small fridge and had one hour hand only, the minute hand appeared later in 17th century. The watch on the photo is a cheap late art deco bling, more looking like 1950s-1970s. Of course there is some chance for it to be earlier, but it is made of some diecast alloy which was not done 100 years ago at all. Kid's stuff.

[cluey]

Interesting story. I'm sure there's a logical explanation. One way this may have happened is that a small animal found the watch and carried it into the tomb. I would have a hard time believing it's evidence of time travel.

i am having a hard time believing a small animal would go out of it's way to pick up a watch and just happen to put it in a 400year old tomb......the time travel scenario is just as a hard to believe

[UltraThunderMan]

Timex?

[glyndowers heir]

The article states:

'The archaeologists were filming a documentary with two journalists when they made the puzzling discovery.'

I'd imagine it went something like:

Journalist #1, I need both you archaeologists to give me a hand outside with my camera for a few minutes!

Then Approximately 10 seconds later (following the sound of something small dropping on a tomb floor)

Journalist #2 (from inside tomb), hey guys whats that by that body?

and thus another piece of creative Journalism is born!

It would also work if you swopped the Archaeologist/ Journalist roles

or am I just becoming an old Sceptic

[MissMelsWell]

The above from the article is plain stupid, as "Swiss" is a common inscription in late 19th and 20th century. In 1541 the watches, for the authors to know, were of a size of a small fridge and had one hour hand only, the minute hand appeared later in 17th century. The watch on the photo is a cheap late art deco bling, more looking like 1950s-1970s. Of course there is some chance for it to be earlier, but it is made of some diecast alloy which was not done 100 years ago at all. Kid's stuff.

no, that style specifically was very very popular from the 1890's more or less to the 1920's or so. Very very tiny little watches for women in specific. I don't know that the one in the picture is an alloy metal... it's too dirty to tell. The face and band looks identical to the one I have that was produced in 1910 or so (mine is a wrist watch, although it could be converted to a ring watch, it's that small). Mine is a decent gold vermiel... sterling base metal with a 22k gold overlay (much of which has come off). That piece could easily be sterling or damaged vermiel but it's too dirty to tell really.

[MARAB0D]

no, that style specifically was very very popular from the 1890's more or less to the 1920's or so. Very very tiny little watches for women in specific. I don't know that the one in the picture is an alloy metal... it's too dirty to tell. The face and band looks identical to the one I have that was produced in 1910 or so (mine is a wrist watch, although it could be converted to a ring watch, it's that small). Mine is a decent gold vermiel... sterling base metal with a 22k gold overlay (much of which has come off). That piece could easily be sterling or damaged vermiel but it's too dirty to tell really.

It is not dirty, it is corroded - and the surface colour hints on such metals as zinc, Aluminium, lead or Tin. The yellow is the dirt, not the grey. Silver from the diggings looks green or black. I think this is all a hoax.

[MissMelsWell]

It is not dirty, it is corroded - and the surface colour hints on such metals as zinc, Aluminium, lead or Tin. The yellow is the dirt, not the grey. Silver from the diggings looks green or black. I think this is all a hoax.

I'm gonna disagree I think it is about 100 years old. If only because I have never seen a swiss watch from the 50s, 60s, 70s or 80s that was that tiny, OR ring shaped (there were a limited few in the 50s that were small, but not that small). They were popular around the turn of the century though. It's really hard to tell what it's made of from the picture, difficult to tell what is dirt and what is not, and it doesn't say to what extent it's been cleaned. I'm going by the style... they style is most certainly very late Victorian.

[danielost]

Come on, this totally supports time travel! Seriously though, all they have to do is identify the manufacturer of the watch and the time frame in which it was manufactured. Then correlate it with any archeological digs in the area.

if the tomb has been sealed for 400 years how would any archeological digs in the area help. they didn't go into the tomb.

[MissMelsWell]

if the tomb has been sealed for 400 years how would any archeological digs in the area help. they didn't go into the tomb.

I think the obvious answer is that they are wrong about how long the tomb has been sealed for and that someone poked around in there in the last 400 years. I'm gonna guess they were there around, oh, 100 years ago haha. Certainly turn of the century tourists and amature archeologists were stickin' their shovels in the ground and rooting about the countryside with few people knowing about it. 100 years ago, you didn't need authorization to do a little amature diggin' in a LOT of places; unlike now.

[Stardrive]

i am having a hard time believing a small animal would go out of it's way to pick up a watch and just happen to put it in a 400year old tomb......the time travel scenario is just as a hard to believe

Animals like shiney objects and can dig. I guess a time traveler could like shiney objects and dig to...

[Mac E]

if the tomb has been sealed for 400 years how would any archeological digs in the area help. they didn't go into the tomb.

I question whether it was "sealed". We don't know to what extent the tomb was sealed. As others have mentioned it could have been animals, but a more realistic answer would be amateur archeologists/tomb robbers at the turn of the century.