Pundit
Post by rocl on Feb 21, 2017 19:18:47 GMT 12
i'm not sure where the idea to strap a watch onto a wrist came from, but one of the disastrous consequences of such an absurd idea was the sad demise of that wonderful instrument - the pocket watch. even when i had a wrist watch i kept it in my pocket, as it just didn't feel comfortable anywhere else. my grandfather used one and even now, they evoke wonderful associations for me. so i guess it was inevitable that i would end up with 1. or 2. or even 3. or more. the old US railway watches are prized among collectors. they are a bit like a V8 engine. simple, reliable and always do the job. not for the americans fine tolerances and intricate engineering which can fail with a small bump. back in the days of single track railway lines it was imperitive that the train was in the right place at the right time, so the right time had to be known by all involved. hence the railroad watch. large - 16s or 18s, open faced, clear dial and lever set so they couldn't be altered accidentally while being wound as stem set watches might. ebay.com has 100's, 1000's of the things list constantly. just as in hi-fi, there are those who are constantly trawling the listings in search of that elusive model. for me the one i want to own is the Waltham Maximus. 12s preferably because its smaller and i have some 16s watches already. and because technically its not a RR watch as it's stem set not lever set. the watch i use daily is a 17jewel Hampden i paid about $80 for. it is stem set, light, not too wide and just a really nice watch. a bit of wear and tear on thhe case, but a lovely 3 level dial. about 100yrs old so it has earned its battle scars. it broke its mainspring last year, but is up and running again. keeps excellent time. image uploadthen i got a Hamilton 992B. 21j 16s A stunningly beautiful watch in great condition. ultra reliable. and it's younger than me, but not by much. 1955 model. not that there were any changes during its production run of 30 or so years. no service needed, just a bit of oil and it keeps perfect time. these are reputed to be more accurate than a quartz watch. upload imagesand lastly, my early model Waltham Vanguard. fully serviced(over $500). 19j 16s no inside pics as once serviced it pays to keep them closed to keep dust out.
|
Post by Owen Y on Feb 21, 2017 19:23:05 GMT 12
That's nice rocl - who does your servicing?
|
Pundit
Post by rocl on Feb 21, 2017 19:34:11 GMT 12
thanks Owen Y. Ilam Watchmakers.
|
Post by michaelw on Feb 22, 2017 8:59:06 GMT 12
wow, nice collection.
do you have any waistcoats with a watch pocket ?
|
Pundit
Post by rocl on Feb 22, 2017 9:36:03 GMT 12
no - but i find the coin pocket in jeans and pants works really well for the 16s. would be too small for an 18s hence why i am focused on the smaller watches. they also just feel right in the hand.
|
Post by Owen Y on Feb 22, 2017 10:03:37 GMT 12
|
Post by Graham on Feb 23, 2017 21:05:59 GMT 12
My wife inherited a pocket watch from her grandfather. No brand name, it just says non magnetic and Swiss Made. Don't even know if it particularly valuable. It does still go if you wind it. Can you identify it ? image hosting
|
Pundit
Post by rocl on Feb 23, 2017 21:39:54 GMT 12
sorry, no. i think that as it is unbranded its value lies in the family connection. a watchmaker or repairer may have more idea.
|
Pundit
Post by rocl on Feb 4, 2019 19:29:16 GMT 12
an update - the Hamilton was sold on TMe last march as i didn't ever use it and it is too modern. the Waltham Vanguard was sold 3wks ago because i didn't use it very often and because i bought another Hamilton. this one a 12s (gentleman's dress size watch about 45mm across as distinct from my others which are 16s or 48-51mm across). the Hamilton is gorgeous inside and out. and then just after i had sold the vanguard, a fairly dilapidated 23jewel one came up on ebay with a fairly low buy now or offer price. i was feeling cheeky so sent a low ball offer which was, after a day and a half, accepted. bugger! cracks on the dial, a hole in the case which was also broken. for the past 2yrs i have been wanting a Waltham Riverside 12s. there have been 20 or 30 pass through ebay in that time, and none were purchased. i was fussy and cheap. not a great combination of attributes when it comes to ebay. and then, 2days after i bought the Hamilton up popped a Riverside in amazing condition. and it had a buy now and i could make an offer. so another low ball offer and... guess who now owns another 12s. absolutely gorgeous, if you ignore the scratching inside the back of the case. now any normal person would have called a halt right here and now. and i did. i promise i did. in my mind there was no way i was getting another watch! but i have had a search with email notification on ebay for years. it has been my dream watch since i became interested in them. it is the holy grail of watches. not exactly because the Waltham Premier Maximus is the holy grail but there were only 501 of them made and they ended up costing US$750 in the late twenties and are US$7-15,000 now! but it's little brother The Riverside Maximus was only US$150 in the noughties of the 20thC and US$800 upwards now. usually. almost always. ebay sent me an email with one for $5250 buy now. wow! the next day it was listed $600 and then it was dropped to $550 with offers. a bit suspicious. i did a bit of research and it had the wrong dial and wrong case. hmmm. feeling cheeky i sent an offer of $450. totally absurd! he countered with $475. i couldn't believe it. so cheap! long story short - he offers it to me for $475 incl shipping. hmmm. so now i have my holy grail.
|
Post by deano1974 on Feb 4, 2019 19:30:39 GMT 12
an update - the Hamilton was sold on TMe last march as i didn't ever use it and it is too modern. the Waltham Vanguard was sold 3wks ago because i didn't use it very often and because i bought another Hamilton. this one a 12s (gentleman's dress size watch about 45mm across as distinct from my others which are 16s or 48-51mm across). the Hamilton is gorgeous inside and out. and then just after i had sold the vanguard, a fairly dilapidated 23jewel one came up on ebay with a fairly low buy now or offer price. i was feeling cheeky so sent a low ball offer which was, after a day and a half, accepted. bugger! cracks on the dial, a hole in the case which was also broken. i.ebayimg.com/images/g/GsIAAOSwvApbs~Ro/s-l1600.jpgi.ebayimg.com/images/g/OUsAAOSwvO5bs~Ru/s-l1600.jpgfor the past 2yrs i have been wanting a Waltham Riverside 12s. there have been 20 or 30 pass through ebay in that time, and none were purchased. i was fussy and cheap. not a great combination of attributes when it comes to ebay. and then, 2days after i bought the Hamilton up popped a Riverside in amazing condition. and it had a buy now and i could make an offer. so another low ball offer and... guess who now owns another 12s. i.ebayimg.com/images/g/XnoAAOSwIndcQ9fD/s-l1600.jpghttps://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/TAIAAOSw1qhcQ9fR/s-l1600.jpgabsolutely gorgeous, if you ignore the scratching inside the back of the case. now any normal person would have called a halt right here and now. and i did. i promise i did. in my mind there was no way i was getting another watch! but i have had a search with email notification on ebay for years. it has been my dream watch since i became interested in them. it is the holy grail of watches. not exactly because the Waltham Premier Maximus is the holy grail but there were only 501 of them made and they ended up costing US$750 in the late twenties and are US$7-15,000 now! but it's little brother The Riverside Maximus was only US$150 in the noughties of the 20thC and US$800 upwards now. usually. almost always. ebay sent me an email with one for $5250 buy now. wow! the next day it was listed $600 and then it was dropped to $550 with offers. a bit suspicious. i did a bit of research and it had the wrong dial and wrong case. hmmm. feeling cheeky i sent an offer of $450. totally absurd! he countered with $475. i couldn't believe it. so cheap! long story short - he offers it to me for $475 incl shipping. hmmm. so now i have my holy grail. Wow and wow that is beautiful, well done Sir
Manager & Product specialist at Rapallo AV & HI-FI
|
Post by Owen Y on Feb 4, 2019 19:50:02 GMT 12
That movement looks gorgeous. PS. Do pocket-watch collectors value 'patina'? Or, do they like to have the finish look more pristine than new?
|
Pundit
Post by rocl on Feb 4, 2019 19:57:28 GMT 12
That movement looks gorgeous. PS. Do pocket-watch collectors value 'patina'? Or, do they like to have the finish look more pristine than new? mostly sparkly and shiny does it. that's why the movement of the Maximus is so prized. it is the sparkliest of them all.
|
Pundit
Post by rocl on Feb 4, 2019 20:00:40 GMT 12
so now i have listed the Hampden on TMe. i've decided i'm allowed 5.
|
Post by cooksferry on Mar 23, 2019 8:47:59 GMT 12
I have a couple of pocket watches . This one was purchased nearly 40 years ago as a present from my wife. I've never worn a wrist watch and back then my Norton Commando was our only form of transport. She thought the pocket watch was ideal to slip in a jacket pocket on our various trips and it did indeed do several thousand miles tucked away in my leathers. These days wife seems to have claimed it back as it now resides on her bedside cabinet.
|
Post by cooksferry on Mar 23, 2019 9:05:20 GMT 12
This one is perhaps more interesting. Not totally certain of its history but it appears it once belonged to my maternal grandfather who was killed in an industrial accident in 1935. It was then passed onto my father and sat in a drawer for as long as I can remember. I found it when we were cleaning out the family home and as eldest child claimed dibs . Although the working mechanism looks to be in good condition the watch wont wind up so something is either jammed or broken but I prefer to leave it as is rather than risk any repairs. Both the inner and outer cases have 18KC stamped in them and I presume that it refers to any gold plating. Could well be wrong there. On the inside case there appears to be some sort of makers mark. The outer rear case is similarly stamped and also has the letters 894588. Very hard read. The watch also came with two curved tooth shaped pendents , gold cap with Greenstone underneath which seem to have vanished into the depths of some ones Jewell box. It's a nice bit of family history and I guess one day will be passed onto one of my children. I'm only guessing here but since my grandfather was only a small run holder the the watch wouldn't have been a top line item . Not sure why the pic below the case looks so dark as it is in nice clean shiny condition
|
Pundit
Post by rocl on Mar 23, 2019 11:17:18 GMT 12
cooksferry they look really neat. thanks for posting. the 2nd watch is in what is called a !?@ hunter case, so you can still see the time when it is closed. the 2nd watch has hallmarks which may indicate it is solid gold, not plated although i can't see a stamp with the weight, so... a jeweller would be able to tell you.
|
Post by jon on Mar 25, 2019 13:01:47 GMT 12
Cooks, I think your grandfather's watch is solid gold and not gold plate.
18K refers to 18 Carat gold 75% gold + or - 1/2 a percent. If it was some sort of plate I'd expect to see GP or RGP or something like that, depending on the type of plating. The watch may not be from a Commonwealth country as the Commonwealth used CT (or ct) to indicate the same thing - the percentage of gold.
The 894588 may well be a serial number and careful checking with the most well-known manufacturers may turn up a match. That's a tough one to do by the way... as you will turn up multiples!
Your dark picture may have an Assay Office or Makers mark there, however it's not in sufficient detail to identify, as a result you'd be well advised to get it professionally assessed. Thought for you...
|
Post by cooksferry on Mar 25, 2019 13:27:29 GMT 12
Thanks for that Jon. Will take it to a jeweler next month when I have some days off. Interesting that you say it may not be from a Commonwealth country as the outer face has always seemed more European(French ?) to me. Shame there's so little left of the box as it may have held more information.
|
Pundit
Post by rocl on Apr 6, 2019 11:18:20 GMT 12
The reason I am fascinated by pocket watches began with my grandfather who always carried one. It was an "inexpensive" 7jewel RJA Lever which could not be repaired. I have wanted a watch which has an association with him for a long time and recently came up with an idea. He was born in 1888 and Waltham have a unique model of that name so I began a search. It uses a case suitable for that model and I ended up with one from a different project. The original movement was again unrepairable so I looked for an alternative. Ebay came up with a potential candidate. Buying an old watch is a gamble but the odds get very high when looking at just a movement. The costs are low but it could be junk. I had no idea what my maximum bid should be. I settled on $88.88 to stay with the theme. It went for $82 so I saved a bit. I had it shipped to Andy who worked on my DV TKR last year and also does watches. He looked it over, gave it a drop or 2 of oil and pronounced it good to go. I expected it would need disassembling, cleaning and oil, but it was keeping good time and I won't be using it more than a few days a month so I was pleased with the savings. It arrived this week and I "popped" it into its case, wound it up and away it went. Bingo! Today I took some photo's -
|