Calling all Pocket Watch Buffs

@TexOmega ,

Truly a beautiful watch in every respect. By the time yours was made, Hamilton no longer found it necessary to be dyeing the Elinvar (or Elinvar Extra) hairspring, blue. Yours shows the natural colour of the alloy.

At one time, I had two 992Es. This one with the 24-hour “Canadian” dial which has a hairline and a chip by the 11, and the one I sold which had a perfect 12-hour double sunk vitreous enamel dial. I actually liked this dial better. A friend and brother collector fell in love with the one with the perfect dial. I don’t usually sell my watches, but his offer was such that I was unable to turn it down. 😁 This one has a model 14, bar-over-crown case which I like better than the one I sold. This case is near perfect.

read at the very bottom of the ad about the coming 992B

@TexOmega ,

A veritable storehouse of very relevant archival material. Pardon me if I print it off, and keep it for future exhibits that two of us do. Love it!

Sure, I got it from watch forums back when I was buying pocket watches. probably NAWCC where knowledge just oozes from their pores. I know 0.010% what most posting there do.

Well, here’s another watch that does not have a story that I am aware of. I work on a lot of watches over time, and on occasion, one will be on my bench that I deem to be worthy of memorializing. This is one of those. Did I have it for an appraisal or a repair? It is long enough ago that I don’t remember how it came my way.

Most of the American watch manufacturers used a full plate layout when designing their 18-size movements. The full plate movement as a rule is thicker that other designs. Elgin, on the other hand, went to what is known as 3/4 plate design on many of their 18-size models such as the one I show, here. This is an 18-size, 23-jewel, Veritas grade Elgin. This watch is not mine (darn it!) The information sheet indicates a diamond endstone on both balance staff cap jewels. Maybe some of this model did, but this particular one has ruby end stones. Still nice, don’t you think. Elgin railroad grade models were B W Raymond, Veritas (this one), and Father Time.

Here’s the skinny on this beauty.

https://pocketwatchdatabase.com/search/result/elgin/9542458



And for comparison, here is a full plate 18-size movement from Hamilton. Notice the the balance wheel sits ON TOP of the movement, rather than between the plates as on the Elgin. Full plate models are thicker, and not as nice to work on.

And here it is, from the first year of production 😎

Hamilton advertised the boxes as perfect to re-use for carrying a pack of smokes...

These are what are known as comparing watches, each ship's chronometer was accompanied by one. Everyday the clocks on the ship needed to be synchronized with the ship's chronometer, so the navigator or quartermaster would sync this comparing watch to the chronometer then go to the various clocks in the ship to make sure every clock was showing the correct time. The navigator would also use this watch when taking a position.

Definitely a cool watch and one I do not have in my collection yet, so I call dibs.

American Watch Co. (Waltham)
Model 1857 11j P.S. Bartlett
KWKS
Circa 1866
Dueber 3 oz. Coin Silver case

Works/Accurate

Absolutely!

Many larger warships carried more than one chronometer. Often, one on the bridge, one in the radio room, perhaps one with the navigator, and often, one in the captain’s cabin. The chronometers were never to be all together. Why? How do you spell Kamikaze! They often aimed for the bridge! The comparing watch was used to compare the reading on all chronometers. From Art Zimmerla’s pamphlet on the Hamilton 992B prepared for the NAWCC Pacific North West Regional in May, 2003. The subject watch has the letter “K” in the serial number. Read what Zimmerla says about the meaning of the “K” in the serial number. These watches were originally conceived as 974B models.

VERY NICE! I also have an 1857 Waltham. Here’s the skinny on mine. A lot of this info would apply to other 1857s as well. Mine has a bi-metallic, temperature compensating balance wheel, an 15-jewels. Runs great! But a terrible timekeeper!

https://pocketwatchdatabase.com/search/result/waltham/856357

That is the stainless steel case model # 15 from circa 1950. I have its twin. This is the second one of these that I have owned. Maybe 25 years ago, a Canadian Railroad Historic group contacted me that a valued member had retired from his day job, and was leaving their group. They wanted to send him off with a genuine railroad watch to remember them by. They wondered if I had anything I might sell them. I offered the my 992B in the steel model #15 case for $150.00. They weren’t prepared to spend that much! But eventually, they came around, and I sold it to them. I bought the watch at an NAWCC Mart for $75.00 U S, but it had a broken balance staff. I fixed it up.

They presented the watch to their confrere and he left for Cranbrook, British Columbia, to work at the railroad museum there. He was there for several years, and moved back here.

The subject watch is still owned by the same chap. His hobby is railroads. This watch has probably traveled for several hundred thousand miles in his pocket, as he and his wife travel the world, seeking out passenger trains. I have maintained it for him for all these years, and he loves that watch like James Ward Packard loved his Patek Philippe Grand Complication.

I bought the one in the picture, from a friend, several years ago. For a LOT more that $150.00! It neede work, and I had to make a stainless steel hinge pin for the bow. It is not my favourite 992B, but I use it more than I do the others. This one travelled with us on our three week trip to Amsterdam, then by train to Paris, Geneva, then Rome. Then two weeks in an NAWCC group that had a wonderful and tiring tour of Italy. I find that European railways generally operate dead on schedule. Picture taken on board a train from Paris to Geneva.

The word was out at the outbreak of WWII that Countries needed accurate and durable precision timing instruments, This was one of the markings Britain used for their military pocket watches.

Leonidas answered the call, amongst many others.

In his book on the marine chronometer, Marvin Whitney has an excellent chapter on the scramble to provide timekeepers for military use, both in WWI and WWII. The war in Europe had been going on for about two years, before Pearl Harbour brought the U S into the war. The U S was a major supplier of war materiel to the Allies while trying to appear “neutral” through those two years. The U S was caught up in a mad scramble to try to prepare itself for was, once it was caught up in it. For a time, private individuals were asked to surrender time keepers of all sorts that could be refitted for use in the war effort. The American watch companies were also major suppliers of timepieces to army, navy and air forces. Particularly Hamilton.