Thoughts on this moral quandary?

Agree wholeheartedly with the advice to keep it for now and give it a chance to grow on you. My father died unexpectedly and his two Cartier tank watches, which he had said he wanted to leave to me, ended up being grabbed by another family member who probably sold them. Those watches wouldn’t have ever been my style but, as @wagudc said, you’ll never have another grandfather’s watch. Three years later, not having any tangible thing to remember my father by is something I’m never going to stop feeling sad about.

Thanks again everyone for chiming in. So much value in hearing how you would all approach this.


^ This particularly stood out, and gets at the crux of the moral dilemma. The watch is valuable, physically, and more importantly, sentimentally. As such, I’ll never be able to part ways with it without regret—despite knowing I can liquidate it for a grail I’ll enjoy infinitely more.

That’s right. However, $5k is a nice head start for a $7k or $10k grail watch.

You bring up a good point. I think how the funds are spent matters. I’d feel much worse if the funds were used for gas and groceries, as opposed to acquiring a new timepiece which can be thought of as a metaphorical gift in lieu.

I own my father's watch, it a quartz peice with no real monetary value but he had to give up his clock collection when he went into the nursing home so he treasured that watch. Its the watch I'll never sell but will wear the least (the last time was the day of his funeral).

By the sounds of things there are no other items for the OP to remember his grandfather so maybe take some time to think about this. If required, a service might make the watch more wearable for you (or easier to sell) but think hard about polishing if you do wish to sell it.