Anyone into old pocket watches?

[Paul K]

I have an old pocket watch that I have had since the early 90’s. It works but Doesn’t keep very good time and the minute hand is broken off. I took it to a jeweler in BFE and he reckons it’s 1870’s. Are these things worth anything? It seems as though prices are all over the place. I’m not sure if they are worth anything for parts or if scrap is the best option? Any input appreciated.









Cheers,

Paul.

[KFC911]

Probably not much...I looked into a couple....mebbe not quite that old...

One still has the brown shoestring that kept it attached to my great-grandpaw's bib-overall's pocket....that's a valuable shoe string .

If you have a name/serial #....there should be info out there...good luck.

I like to be wrong

[NutmegCarrera]

The inner back cover should open up.
Usually a bit more difficult than the outer cover, but a knife edge usually does the trick.
You should find some info on the workings. They are typically very pretty inside.

Please post photos when you open it up.

[bugstrider]

Keep us posted


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[Jolly Amaranto]

I have my grandfather's old watch from when he worked for a railroad. He told me they had someone at the railroad who's job it was to keep all the station clocks and all the employee's pocket watches adjusted to keep as perfect time as possible. He had to turn in his watch periodically to have it inspected. Precise time was important when trains ran by a time table.

[piscator]

I'm not an expert, but from what I've learned, pocket watches are collectible, but don't command the prices that wrist watches do. I believe the maker contributes more to value than the age; with Waltham, Hamilton, and Elgin kinda leading the pack. The big 'railroad' watches are actively collected.

What's a real shame is that whenever the price of gold goes up, more of the existing inventory of fine pocket watches get melted down. That's why there's so many Waltham and Hamilton movements on Ebay, without cases.

I also know that there's a cadre of esoteric collectors who chase after various mechanical movements, based on criteria I couldn't begin to understand. And in some cases, I think this ties into regions in Europe who's cottage industries built identifiable movements.

Also, I'm told that the high-end European pocket watches like Patek are not sought after by collectors, so much, but are valuable based on who made them.

This little bit that I've learned came from two watchmakers who cleaned and serviced several pocket watches that I inherited. One was a watchmaker/collector. The other was an ancient ol' skool guy who's watchmaking skills enabled he (and his mom and dad) to survive the Auschwitz concentration camp. One of the extremely rare cases where an entire family survived. Fascinating man.

Here's some pix of my inherited watches.

[Tobra]

Dad has one that is a beauty. Substantially bigger than a silver dollar and heavy, with two covers that open on the back. Hundred years old and heavy, was a watch worn by the cat that said "All Aboard" in the olden days. Keeps decent time, good enough anyway, especially if nobody else has a watch

[Paul K]

Here are some pics of the back of the mechanism, as requested...

[masraum]

My wife brought a desk home from her aunt several years ago. It had probably been a very nice desk at some point, but it had been treated very poorly and practically disintegrated on the way back to our place. I eventually convinced my wife that there was no way that it could be restored, so we threw it out. I couldn't just put it out with the trash because parts were too big for the garbage men to take, so I broke it up. In the process, this popped out from somewhere.



Inside it was...



Which was interesting since it was protecting



It says 14kt, so I suspect it's solid, not filled or plated. It's fairly small (size 6) which was usually carried by women.

[SCadaddle]

The interesting history of the old pocket watches is typically found on the inside of the rear case, where watchmakers would usually scribe into the case any repairs or cleaning, the date, and their initials.

The gold cases have scrap value to those in that kind of business. The gold filled cases are pretty much worthless. When it comes to the railroad grade watches, it wasn't uncommon to find a really nice movement in a gold filled case. Those guys were on a budget, and since a high quality movement that cost more was the spec, then they'd usually go with the budget case. Nowadays it's hard to imagine that in the old days, timing not only meant that you'd get there on time riding the train, it was actually a matter of life and death!

I dabbled in collecting old pocket watches back in the early 90's. One I picked up at a pawn shop was like the ones depicted in this thread as the "tri-fold" case is known as a Hunter's Case. The one I picked up was a vintage 1890 Elgin "B.W. Raymond" movement that needed a main spring. I found a fellow at the local flea market that was a skilled watchmaker, and he put a new main spring in it for me. I saw this thread the other night, went and found my watch, gave it a few winds and she started running like a top. The number of "Jewels" refers to the jeweled bearings that house the gears, typically ruby or sapphire. The quality of the watch is generally noted by the number of "jewels", when you get to 21 you've got a pretty nice watch.

[piscator]

Steve, that Waltham is gorgeous! And what a story!

And Jolly, that Hamilton is magnificent as well. My Dad had a similar one that was his grandfather's. It was sadly lost in a burglary. :-(

[masraum]

Originally Posted by SCadaddle

The interesting history of the old pocket watches is typically found on the inside of the rear case, where watchmakers would usually scribe into the case any repairs or cleaning, the date, and their initials.

The one that I have pictured above has a bunch of those markings. THey are all either a number and initials or a number and date or a number, date and initials for the most part. It's interesting to see the dates and the various types of engraving, but other than that, it none of them tell me what was done that I can decipher.

The number of "Jewels" refers to the jeweled bearings that house the gears, typically ruby or sapphire. The quality of the watch is generally noted by the number of "jewels", when you get to 21 you've got a pretty nice watch.

Mostly (that I've seen) ruby (of course ruby and sapphire are both just different colors of corundum, red for ruby and any other color for sapphire). For instance, in the photo below, I believe you can see at least 4 or 5 of the 15 ruby jewels.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by piscator

Steve, that Waltham is gorgeous! And what a story!

And Jolly, that Hamilton is magnificent as well. My Dad had a similar one that was his grandfather's. It was sadly lost in a burglary. :-(

Thanks. Yeah, it sucks to lose heirlooms to something like burglary, fire, flood, etc....

We consider that watch my wife's since it's possibly from her grandmother or one of her other relatives. I've considered buying a pocket watch myself, but I've decided that without a sentimental attachment, I'm very unlikely to spend the money. Fortunately, I do have a wall clock and a grandfather clock, both of which hold some sentimental value for me.

[NutmegCarrera]

This is one that came from my fathers side of family.
My grandmother knew who had it previously, but did not know any significant details.

I believe this to be a gold filled case.

The movement is really nice.

Not the greatest photos - these weee taken about 10 years ago.

[NutmegCarrera]

And here is another that I have.
Much nicer case. I think it’s solid.
More decoration in the movement.
No family history, other than my parents giving it to me for college graduation.
(My engineering undergraduate, and I really like mechanical ‘things’)

[BeyGon]

I bought this one when I worked at Disneyland in 1964, it says made in England.

[masraum]

Actually, it says "Made in Gt. Britain"

[vash]

I’m glad they went out of style. But I imagine times were not as hurried back then. Fumbling in a pocket and then flipping one open..nah.

[bugstrider]

Originally Posted by BeyGon

I bought this one when I worked at Disneyland in 1964, it says made in England.

That’s awesome!!!



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[bugstrider]

Originally Posted by vash

I’m glad they went out of style. But I imagine times were not as hurried back then. Fumbling in a pocket and then flipping one open..nah.

Hahahaha, now we are all in hurry to be “late”


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