Early on in the evolution of the American watch, vitreous enamel dials were often sourced in England. They’d been producing vitreous enamel dials for a long time by the time American makers joined the fray. In fact, at least one American watchmaker had someone spend time in the dial factories of England, to learn how they were made.

Vitreous enamel will last virtually forever, but because they are brittle, don’t smack them around! I have posted a picture of one of my Waltham 16-size Crescent Street watches that did service in the bib of the coveralls of a fellow who worked for CPR from 1917, until he retired in 1962. I have an abstract of the repairs that were done to this watch. In the 45 years it served the owner. It had SEVEN balance staffs, and numerous broken jewels over the decades. This meant he smacked it around. The double-sunk vitreous enamel dial shows it!

 

Yes, the porcelain dials were stable........till you dropped them or the dial feet were bound up or overtightened. They did not just craze and crack like the Melamine from temperature changes and age.

Plus, many dials were damaged by heavy handed use of a fingernail to grab and pull that little lever to set the time.

My Dueber has a metal dial with hand/machine tooling

 

Time for another watch, with a story. Sometimes, I feel like a bit of an archaeologist. The more I dig the more I learn!

The subject watch is one I was given (as I recall), about 50 years ago. Poor rolled gold plated case, dull crystal, dial damaged, Swiss made.......four strokes against it. Yesterday (Saturday), with time on my hands, I decided to look for a better case, and replace the carpy crystal, and service the movement. I found a carpy 7-jewel Elgin in a good Canadian made, gold filled case which is the case shown. I went through the movement. The case proved to be a perfect fit for the movement. I fitted a new glass crystal by the time honoured method which requires no glue. Find a glass crystal which is a tiny bit too large, heat the bezel to about 400°, drop the crystal into place, allow the bezel to cool. Fait accompli! No glue.

The dial is marked “Blacks”. David Ernest Black (D E informally), had apprenticed as a watchmaker to a jeweller in Pembroke, Ontario. In 1903, at age 23, he decided to seek his fortune in boom town Calgary. He arrived here with 75 cents in his pocket. He was hired as a watchmaker by an established Calgary jeweller, L H Doll. In 1904, he found a location on the central Stephen Ave. Mall, and set up shop. His first store was tiny.....7’ x 14’. He found a ready demand for his watchmaking skills, servicing railroad watches for local railroad employees. By 1913, he had moved to larger quarters, and employed a staff of 62. He sold out to Henry Birks and Sons in 1920. Birks became established in Calgary. One provision in his deal with Birks is that they would establish an office for him in their store, for his use exclusively, for as long as he wished to use it.

In 1965, I took a job in a jewellery store less than one block from the aforementioned Birks store. We regularly saw D E out for his daily constitutional, summer and winter. During the summer, he was dressed impeccably in a white 3 piece suit, and a white Homburg hat, replete with a walking cane. During the winter, he wore a black 3 piece suit with a black Melton clock overcoat, black gloves, black Homburg hat, replete with walking cane. He walked around the block the Birks store was on. I neglected to mention, he always wore spats, as well. Don’t know what spats are? Google it!

The watch. Swiss made Cortebert movement, 17-jewels, safety barrel (not the usual Swiss going barrel), bi-metallic temperature compensating balance wheel, blued steel Breguet hairspring, movement marked adjusted to 4 positions, Blacks Service. Since Black was a railroad watch inspector, I have a strong suspicion this watch was used as a “loaner”, serving a railroader while his watch was repaired. The dial being marked Blacks tell me this watch is from before D E sold to Birks in 1920.

The images of the L H Doll building show only the facade of the building. I the late 1990s, there was a move afoot to demolish four heritage buildings along the Stephen Ave Mall, to make way for a new Hyatt hotel. There was a LOT of controversy over removing the buildings, one of which was the Doll Building. A compromise was reached. The facades of the four building were reinforced with steel beams, and then incorporated in the new Hyatt hotel structure!

 

My 100-year (+), private label pocket watch (D E Black), on my @DaveK lanyard. I took my Howard off the lanyard to make way for this one. Likely wear it for a while.

 

Agassiz Watch Company
12s 5 adjustments 17j High Quality movement
14kt yellow gold AW case
Open Cathedral Hands
Metal dial
Circa ???

Provided movements to Longines










Had to worry about counterfeiters even then

 

A beaut, for sure! The ad from the Jewellers Circular Keystone is from 1895. The movement in the subject watch bears no resemblance to Agassiz movements in the ad, leads me to believe the subject watch is newer than that. Ernest Francillon founded Longines in 1866, then acquired Agassiz. How long was the Agassiz name around after that? The A W trade mark in the case might be Albert Wittnauer? The case is (seemingly) not of Swiss manufacture. It isn’t marked the way I would expect a Swiss case to be marked. My guess is possibly the 1920s, at the height of the fashion for 12-size watches. That would be my guess.

 

Gruen VeriThin Pentagon, cal V.4





I do watch restoration as a hobby, mostly focusing on 1950's & 60's Swiss wristwatches, but for me it's refreshing to take on a pocket watch restoration now & then. The Gruen V series movements are a pleasure to work on, & it's always satisfying to see an old movement come back to life again after sitting idle for many decades.

 

I just serviced one of these for a friend. I was intrigued by the dial on the one I did. Looking closely, you could see that the numerals had been etched into the metal dial, then filled with black vitreous enamel. Your example might be done the same way. How else could a dial have survived so perfectly for 80 or 90 years? The one I did, shown earlier in this thread, was in a solid 14-karat white gold case. Yours is an excellent example. I have shown the movement of the one I did. It is marked 8 positions and temperature. I was not able to read all the engraving on yours. I think it should say timed to 5 positions, temperature, isochronism (8 adjustments). Other than the fact that it is a 12-size, and not lever set, it might be considered railroad grade.

 

Here is a E. Howard series 11 railroad chronometer.

 

LOVE IT! I have one as well. Previously shown. Mine is a bit older than yours. Keystone owned the Howard Watch Co., the New York Standard Watch Co., and the Crown Watch Co. Neither the NYS watches, or the Crown watches measured up to the standard of the Howard. But the Keystone Howard series XI railroad chronometer was based on a design of a 16-size NYS watch movement. Many Howard collectors shun the series XI because of its modest origins, but also it is plainer than the other railroad standard Keystone Howard’s (series 0, series 5, and series 10). I have included an image of the 12-size NYS movement that inspired the 16-size series XI. Notice that the copy of the NYS movement is marked 7-jewels! It was considerably upgraded to change it to a 19-jewel railroad standard watch!

 

Another watch with a story! I just love watch stories.

This story is about a watch in my collection that I showed earlier in this thread. Why am I showing it again, you might well ask. Here’s why.

A friend and horological author has written two books. His first book covers the Canadian Horological College which was founded in Toronto, in 1890, and operated until 1913. (This excellent book is available from the author.) it was published in 2012. I acquired my copy at that time. Last week, I commenced re-reading it. This book covers the school, the principals involved in it, the instructors, and the students. More than 20 students that attended the CHI actually made a watch while attending the college.

Today, I was reading page 106 of the CHI book, and the name of a student that attended that college from 1900 or 1901, until 1903, leapt out at me. His name was George Godfrey Beall, Lindsay, Ontario. His father was George Washington (G W) Beall, and his grandfather was Thomas Beall.

Thomas Beall opened a jewellery store in Lindsay, Ontario, in 1863. In 1877, his son George Washington Beall took over the business. His son (the aforementioned) George Godfrey Beall was born in 1882. At age approx. 19, he commenced his training at the CHI. He became a very accomplished technician, (apparently) making a watch during his training. He in turn took over the jewellery business in 1912.

When I read this in Gary’s book, the name Beall, Lindsay, Ontario, leapt out at me. In my collection I have a private label, 1883 model Waltham with the movement engraved Canadian Railway Time Service. The dial is marked G W Beall, Lindsay (Ontario). The watch is an Appleton Tracy grade, 17-jewels, fully adjusted, lever set, and is railroad approved. I would conclude that the jeweller G W Beall was a railroad watch inspector.

https://pocketwatchdatabase.com/search/result/waltham/9536515

 

Does the regulator wheel pinion have teeth or is it simply friction that does the magic?

 

@JimInOz,

The component which is held on with two screws has a smooth semi circular groove in the middle which acts as a guide for the post in the middle of the star wheel. The post in the star wheel is smooth on the under-side, and pivots in a hole in the balance cock. The top side of the post is knurled, and the knurled post meshes with grooves cut into the regulator arm. The tips of the teeth on the star wheel are moved according the the regulator index engraved in the
top of the balance cock. The star wheel remains concentric as it is turned, and the regulator arm is moved as the star wheel is turned. This makes minuscule movements of the regulating arm possible.

This is known as a “Church” regulator, named after the developer Duane H Church.

 

Eterna pocket watch, c.1930. Unknown calibre.

Not an especially high-grade calibre, likely more of a regular working man's everyday timepiece, but still interesting to me for Eterna's influence on 20th Century horology.

 

Charles Oudin, Palais Royale. Jet and Sterling Silver Pendant Watch with matching Chatelaine. Circa 1860s.

The winder has a ratchet mechanism which winds the watch in the anti-clockwise direction. The fob and case back have the initials L.S.B. in silver.

An elegant and fun piece of history, which to me is quite interesting, as I haven't seen anything like it before.

 

Sometimes, when you look at a watch and think, mehhh! It pays to turn on your imagination, and wonder what wonders may be wrought with a bit of imagination, and sweat equity. I recently posted my Blacks watch in this thread. It had sat for 50 years in a drawer, along with 20 pounds of other scrap watches. Then one day, I thought, “perhaps!” I looked at it with a fresh perspective, and turned it into a dandy watch. Replaced the case, the crystal, cleaned it, and wow, Just WOW! Today, it is one of three watches I am wearing. You were smart. You took pictures before, and pictures after! I didn’t do that! I noticed the blued screw heads and crown wheel core. Nice touch. Your dial certainly looks better as well.

 

@Léon P ,

Thanks for joining us with your intriguing artifact. The name OUDIN is still with us.

https://www.oudin.com

I have included a link to a Wikipedia item about the material, jet. It is found in England and France. In the Victorian era, jet was very popular for use in decorative items, and especially jewellery.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jet_(gemstone)

I have also included a link to an article discussing jet as used in jewellery.

https://geology.com/gemstones/jet/

Do I detect stampings on the one component that might indicate the material used in the metal components? Sterling silver?

The landscape version of the pictures that shows the whole item leads me to believe this might have been a lapel or pendant watch that would be worn by a lady. What else do you collect?

 

If it is 19''', it is potentially a cal 165, from ~1927 IMO.
http://www.schild-eterna.de
http://www.ranfft.de/cgi-bin/bidfun-db.cgi?10&ranfft&2&2uswk&Eterna_165

 

I think you're right, it does look like a cal 165.

 

D. Gruen & Son
Dial: 1st Jewish Fraternal Organization established in the US, circa 1898.
21j Swiss Movement
Display case.