Thread: pocket watches

I've been collecting pocketwatches for many years now. I probably have about 40 of them. Mostly American made railroad grade but I also have a few swiss and some Seiko's all mechanical. I usually carry a Hamilton model 950 made around 1910. I can't remember the last time I had to set it, probably for the changeover to daylight savings time. Its more accurate than most modern quartz timepieces.

If your looking to buy one a search on google for pocketwatches will return many hits. One place to check out is www.oldwatch.com he's in Oklahoma City and though a little on the high side has a very good selection and if you stay away from the real high grade stuff you can get something reasonable for a descent price. You should get a copy of complete price guide to watches by cooksy, shugart its the bible for these things and the first half is devoted to pocketwatches and the first 150 pages or so is a crash course on pocketwatches.

If you have any specific questions I'll be glad to help you out.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

One place to check out is www.oldwatch.com he's in Oklahoma City and though a little on the high side has a very good selection and if you stay away from the real high grade stuff you can get something reasonable for a descent price.

Nice stuff there, even the one for $80,000 is nice to. I need something durable for everyday, have been leaning toward the Swiss Army, even know I would prefer a mechanical watch.
Still looking and learning, thanks guys for all the posts and information.

Glen

I carry a '27 Elgin watch for daily use. It only has 7 jewels, so it's far from railroad grade. Consider a few things about your desired pocketwatch. Do you want it for looks or for utility? How much abuse would it take in your pocket? I picked mine up at a local antique show from a dealer named Chip Colby that does a heavy trade in pocketwatches. As an added bonus, he lives only two hours away so repairs are a piece of cake. If you plan on using this watch on a daily basis you might want to consider a hunter case (has a flip down lid) so you don't ding up the glass (if there is any). I had glass on my open-faced watch and it broke. Fortunately I had a plastic crystal that fit so it wasn't too problematic, but still.

If you want to carry a pocketwatch for daily use personally, my advice be to go for a 15 or 17 jewel watch. Up until the 20th century or so 15 was considered fully jeweled and after that 17 was. 19, 21, 23 is nice but not necessary. For daily wear I would not recommend 7 jewels because instead of jewels you have metal holding the pivots and they will wear through the soft metal sooner than you can imagine. Ideally a stainless case or nickel plate would be best. Gold filled will wear through. Also a screw back case is more secure that a hinged case. I would stick with open faced for daily wear. The hinges and catch on the hunter case will wear unless your real careful. I would recommend a plastic xtl it may scratch easy but will not break or shatter unless you really try to abuse it. I would also recommend a leather pouch to keep it in that you wear on your belt so it doesn't pick up all the dust in your pocket. Also remember vintage pocketwatches have NO water resistance and lastly whatever you do buy get a chain to attach it to. These watch also have NO shock resistance and it just takes one moment of hamhandedness to drop it and parts can be hard to source. Also stick with a popular brand so that if it needs parts they can be found ie Elgin, Waltham, Hamilton or Illinois. There are many others but I'd stick with these.