[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.