Old (Antique ?) hand bearing compass

[RTB]

I have been asked by a widow friend to sell/dispose of her late husband's hand bearing compass. It is a "Heath of London" job and I can't find much on t'internet about it. There is a prism attached and all seems to be in order. I don't know how old it is but he bought his first boat in 1979. How do I find out more about it or get it valued?

 

[JumbleDuck]

I have been asked by a widow friend to sell/dispose of her late husband's hand bearing compass. It is a "Heath of London" job and I can't find much on t'internet about it. There is a prism attached and all seems to be in order. I don't know how old it is but he bought his first boat in 1979. How do I find out more about it or get it valued?

Does it look like this?

Because that one was estimated at £20 - £40 when it was auctioned a couple of years ago. http://www.thomaswatson.com/m/lot/heath-marine-hand-bearing-compass/

 

[RTB]

Yes thanks but much cleaner and well kept. I've now got an idea of value thanks

 

[JumbleDuck]

Yes thanks but much cleaner and well kept. I've now got an idea of value thanks

Te much more common Sestrel ones seem to go for £80 - £100 in good condition and with their wooden boxes, though antique dealers sometime ask several times that. If I were you I'd probably ask eighty, take sixty and hope for a hundred.

 

[RTB]

Te much more common Sestrel ones seem to go for £80 - £100 in good condition and with their wooden boxes, though antique dealers sometime ask several times that. If I were you I'd probably ask eighty, take sixty and hope for a hundred.

Many thanks for the info. I wish I could add a photo to show the state of this one. Unfortunately no wooden box but seems to have been kept in it's polystyrene packing which has preserved it well. I'll get it photographed properley before presenting it for sale or auction.

 

[Minchsailor]

I still use on of these. It has been in the family for around 50 years. Much prefer it to the modern variants.

 

[Gordy M]

I have something similar to this on my boat, but it now seems stuck in one direction, any idea what might be causing that? what is the screw on the side for? Thanks Gord

 

[johnphilip]

I have something similar to this on my boat, but it now seems stuck in one direction, any idea what might be causing that? what is the screw on the side for? Thanks Gord

I assume the screw is the bottle cap enabling you to lose all the alcohol or top it up.

 

[ffiill]

Odd that lots of people see these as antique.
My sestral is about 60 years old and used to carry the mount for a homer heron rd
I got rid off the homer heron with the end of rdf beacons but still use the Sestral.
I did get the prism resilvered a few years ago.
The fact that its battleship grey may or may not mean it was origionally made during the war.

 

[dave_gibsea]

I found one of those in the loft recently, must have belonged to my father and I would guess it's at least 60 years old. My daughter used it for Geography project recently! It has a small bubble otherwise its in perfect condiditon - any idea of what fluid I should use to sort the bubble?

 

[JumbleDuck]

I found one of those in the loft recently, must have belonged to my father and I would guess it's at least 60 years old. My daughter used it for Geography project recently! It has a small bubble otherwise its in perfect condiditon - any idea of what fluid I should use to sort the bubble?

Open it up and sniff. If it smells alcoholic, gin does well. If it's oily, SIRS (who make the Sestrel range nowadays) will sell you some compass oil. My Sestrel handheld is topped up with Co-Op gin.