Calling all Pocket Watch Buffs

Tire-comedon · Jul 6, 2023

Canuck
Show my favourite(s)! Where should I start? I collect Hamilton, Waltham, Elgin, Illinois, E. Howard, Keystone Howard, Omega, Brandt, and miscellaneous other. My”current” favourite is almost always my most recent acquisition.

‘Which one is your favorite?’
‘The next one!´
I know this feeling…

Canuck · Jul 6, 2023

One favourites is my Brandt (Omega)19-jewel grade CCR which was railroad approved in Canada about 100 years ago. I actually have two of them. One is a private label for the jeweller A. Logan of Greenwood, British Columbia (just about 10 miles north of the state of Washington). The other one has a dial marked Louis Brandt @ freres.

noelekal · Jul 6, 2023

Well Bernhard ... I have made a start. There's a Seth Thomas long case clock and a William Gilbert parlor clock with 31 day "observatory" dial from 1890 on hand.

Tire-comedon · Jul 6, 2023

Canuck
One favourites is my Brandt (Omega)19-jewel grade CCR which was railroad approved in Canada about 100 years ago. I actually have two of them. One is a private label for the jeweller A. Logan of Greenwood, British Columbia (just about 10 miles north of the state of Washington). The other one has a dial marked Louis Brandt @ freres.

Oh yes, I know that feeling!
Mine says hello :

Canuck · Jul 6, 2023

Earlier in this thread, I posted a picture of my private label Brandt CCR railroad grade pocket watch. The name on the dial is A Logan, Greenwood British Columbia. This (partial) photo was taken (probably) on Dominion Day, on Copper Street, Greenwood B C circa 1905. In the picture, the sign on the Logan jewellery store can be seen. I suggest the sign painter was using my Brandt pocket watch as a model when he painted that sign.

ghce · Jul 7, 2023

Here is one I would very much like too fully restore.
A Fattorini and Sons Bradford PW in original case ( as per silver marks).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fattorini_and_Sons
https://www.silvercollection.it/ENGLAFATTORINI.html
My Watchmaker went thru it and said to much general wear, balance is good and it wants to go ( runs for while but erratic and stops in a minute or so) but cumulative wear in the train makes it uneconomic for him to do.
It has a perfect dial, great sterling case and for me is the perfect size and weight.
What I am looking for is a donor movement so that I can transfer parts over to get this one fully operational again.
Have looked on eBay and did locate one in a bulk lot but by the time if I purchased them and freighted them it was once again uneconomic and still the risk of a too badly worn movement.

So if any one has one of these movements in a parts drawer/bin let me know.

Bernhard J · Jul 7, 2023

noelekal
Well Bernhard ... I have made a start. There's a Seth Thomas long case clock and a William Gilbert parlor clock with 31 day "observatory" dial from 1890 on hand.

Oh oh, you are lost .... 😁

noelekal · Jul 7, 2023

Hopelessly so, Bernhard.

Tire-comedon · Jul 7, 2023

ghce
Here is one I would very much like too fully restore.
A Fattorini and Sons Bradford PW in original case ( as per silver marks).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fattorini_and_Sons
https://www.silvercollection.it/ENGLAFATTORINI.html
My Watchmaker went thru it and said to much general wear, balance is good and it wants to go ( runs for while but erratic and stops in a minute or so) but cumulative wear in the train makes it uneconomic for him to do.
It has a perfect dial, great sterling case and for me is the perfect size and weight.
What I am looking for is a donor movement so that I can transfer parts over to get this one fully operational again.
Have looked on eBay and did locate one in a bulk lot but by the time if I purchased them and freighted them it was once again uneconomic and still the risk of a too badly worn movement.

So if any one has one of these movements in a parts drawer/bin let me know.

Hi, I don’t have spares, but look at item number 275235017500 on Ebay, could be a donnor.
Good luck!

Alpha · Jul 7, 2023

Watch collecting obviously runs in the family 🤦

ghce · Jul 7, 2023

Tire-comedon
Hi, I don’t have spares, but look at item number 275235017500 on Ebay, could be a donnor.
Good luck!

Yes looks like a close match though some differences such as the dust cover mounting post are in a different position and some other minor differences around the balance bridge. Looks to be the same Swiss maker but probably a different iteration time production wise.
Will have to open mine up again and have a more detailed look and measurement.

pdxleaf · Jul 7, 2023

Canuck
Pocket watches can overwhelm a collector. I know the feeling.

I see several 992, 992B and 950 Hamiltons. How do you decide to purchase a new PW? Is there a hierarchy of features?

Is movement the first priority? Would you buy a nice movement with a cracked dial or do you avoid cracked dials? Where does case condition and material (ie GF vs K) factor in? Price of course factors in, but how much? Is Railroad grade a theme, and are there other themes for a collection?

Curious because I just bought my first PW, a 1914-1916 992 Montgomery Hamilton, which is out for service. I only knew what it was and that it was worth purchasing based on threads like this and other PW sites. The fact that we can buy an historical, fine precision watch for very little money is hard to resist. They are very intriguing. I've always liked Hamilton so a H. PW was a natural choice.

ghce · Jul 7, 2023

pdxleaf
I see several 992, 992B and 950 Hamiltons. How do you decide to purchase a new PW? Is there a hierarchy of features?

Is movement the first priority? Would you buy a nice movement with a cracked dial or do you avoid cracked dials? Where does case condition and material (ie GF vs K) factor in? Price of course factors in, but how much? Is Railroad grade a theme, and are there other themes for a collection?

Curious because I just bought my first PW, a 1914-1916 992 Montgomery Hamilton, which is out for service. I only knew what it was and that it was worth purchasing based on threads like this and other PW sites. The fact that we can buy an historical, fine precision watch for very little money is hard to resist. They are very intriguing. I've always liked Hamilton so a H. PW was a natural choice.

Oh no the rot has set in you will be a voracious PW collector in no time 😁.
For my part I think RR grade watches are the place to be but that's because I just like the precise time keeping aspect of RR PW's but there are many other factors such as case material, weight, size and dial formats.

Canuck · Jul 7, 2023

I find that not being in a hurry to add to my collection works in my favour. I don’t buy watches with bad dials! Imperfect dials, I will consider. As an example, I have a reasonably scarce Hamilton 952. Perfect original case, perfect movement, quite scarce, but a slightly imperfect dial. Notice the hairline between the 1 and the 2. I bought it 30 years ago when it was just “another” watch, and the price was right. Since then, as other more notable pocket watches have become more and more expensive, other pocket watches (eg. the 952) have gained in prominence and value. But to buy (for example) a Hamilton 992B with a bad dial, case, or movement doesn’t make sense, even if it is cheap! There are enough of these around, that the right watch at the right price will eventually appear. When the dial is right, the case is right, the movement is right, the price is right, and you aren’t buying blind, buy it. If it is the right watch, you’ll soon forget how much you paid.

Using the examples given by @pdxleaf , the Hamilton 992, 992B, and the 950. Unless you familiarize yourself with the differences, they are all just watches. The 992B lacks a lot of the aesthetics of the 992 or the 950, being a much newer watch. The 950 was produced in smaller quantities than either the 992 or the 992B, and is likely to be higher priced. Learning about watches makes it easier to prioritize when it comes to building a collection. And it is unlikely that someone else can help you in that regard.

pdxleaf · Jul 7, 2023

Canuck
I find that not being in a hurry to add to my collection works in my favour...

This is what I learned the hard way from wrist watches. PW give me a chance to start over and to learn from my earlier mistakes.

Thanks for the thoughtful reply.

csburns · Jul 9, 2023

Although I don't fully qualify as a PW buff -- wrist watches are more my thing -- not too long ago I inherited my great grandfathers pocket watch and would like to know more about it. I haven't been able to find much of anything useful about Lebolt online, so thought I would reach out to the enthusuastic and knowledgeable folks on this discussion. Any insights would be appreciated. Hey, and maybe in the process I'll be turned into a full-fledged PW buff.

TexOmega · Jul 9, 2023

One thing, no minute hand......gotta see the movement plus inside the case back for additional help.

Welcome.......a priceless heirloom

csburns · Jul 9, 2023

TexOmega
One thing, no minute hand......gotta see the movement plus inside the case back for additional help.

Welcome.......a priceless heirloom

Yeah, the minute hand is MIA. Here are some pictures of the movement and inside case back.

Canuck · Jul 9, 2023

csburns
Although I don't fully qualify as a PW buff -- wrist watches are more my thing -- not too long ago I inherited my great grandfathers pocket watch and would like to know more about it. I haven't been able to find much of anything useful about Lebolt online, so thought I would reach out to the enthusuastic and knowledgeable folks on this discussion. Any insights would be appreciated. Hey, and maybe in the process I'll be turned into a full-fledged PW buff.

The pictures you included don’t show it really well, but I believe the case on your watch to be in a style called “Gallone”! That is, gun metal with gold colour trim. It appears the case is heavily worn, with the gun metal finish and gold plated trim worn off the case back.

Bernhard J · Jul 10, 2023

The company Muller Vaucher was founded in 1897 by Antoine Muller and Alcide Vaucher as a watch factory, and renamed in Recta SA in 1898. The accuracy of Recta watches has been recognized and certified several times, including the Geneva Seal (Poinçon de Genève). The factory also participated in chronometer competitions of the Neuchâtel Observatory. It was awarded the Grand Prix at the Barcelona Watch Fair in 1929.

The movement is nice, even though it has 7 jewels "only". But more important, it has 3 adjustments, thus qualifying as a relatively precise instrument.

So, your watch probably is an early example and restoring the movement would imo make sense. Finding a correct minute hand might need some searching. The missing bow should not be a prroblem.

Cheers, Bernhard