What It's Worth
Weekly articles written by Jeffrey P. Hess about the value of collectibles and other rarities. The articles are published weekly on the Tampa Bay Times.

Fair Market Value VS. Celebrity Value
A Kiss To Build a Watch On Even though we have a robust watchmaking department with two Rolex– and Audemars Piguet-trained watchmakers

The High Value Of Promotion
It’s been said that there is a fine line between promotion and advertising. In some languages, the words “propaganda” and

Do You Have A Museum-Worthy Piece To Donate?
At least once a week, an individual asks our opinion on whether to donate a family heirloom to a museum.

Experience A Glimpse Into Our World’s History
Fine Artwork Paintings These past few weeks have been pretty exciting at Hess Fine Art as we’ve been getting ready for our

Fancy Dials For Fancy Men
At the turn of the 20th century, it was in fashion for men to wear pocketwatches that, when opened, revealed

Here, Duckie Duckie…
Collecting duck decoys is one of the most rewarding — and frustrating — experiences in the world of collecting. The

The Incredible, Collectible Leica
The Leica Camera Vintage Leica cameras were manufactured in Germany starting in 1914, and certain models are still made there today. They

Understanding, Predicting Antique Trends
It’s always difficult to predict antique trends, but looking over the past 70 years of collecting, many trends point to

When Provenance Doesn’t Matter
A few years back, a Miami antiques dealer asked us to partner with him on a Breguet watch. I was skeptical

LED And LCD Watches Come Of Age
We predicted many years ago that LED/LCD would become collectible, and, indeed, these types of watches have an important, though