Calling all Pocket Watch Buffs

river rat · Apr 24, 2021

Here is the watch that took me down the rabbit hole into this hobby were I collect just about any thing that tells time that interest me. I never had a lot of money in my youth so really could not do a hobby plus I use to party it away in my teens until age 27. First real job I got after active Duty Navy were I slowed down my party habits were I had money to spend I was walking by a pawn shop this is around 1987 I walk in and checked out pocket watches they had all ways wanted to collect those for some reason. Bought this beater none fancy a working mans watch when it was made a Hamilton 992 did not cost me a lot. But it took me down the rabbit hole were I got this bad habit of buying any thing that tells time and got into the history of timepieces. I have slowed down on pocket watches and went on to other types of timepieces collection sort of into military collecting and some times other stuff that catch my attention if the price is right did buy a WW1 Zenith corps of engineers pocket watch recently first pocket watch I bought in years. Here are a few photo's of the Hamilton. Any one else still got there first pocket watch they ever bought ? This one was made around 1918.

noelekal · Apr 24, 2021

Y'all are mean.

I already have more things that tell time than I can get around to wearing and knew I didn't need another watch collecting tangent. But, here y'all come with all manner of temptations.

Canuck · Apr 24, 2021

My first pocket watch was a Westclox Pocket Dax that my watchmaker father gave me, in 1946. I took it to pieces in grade one, at my desk, at school. The teacher took it away from me. I have a shoe box of Westclox Dax today, but not my original. My second watch also was a 992. See the first posting in this thread. That’s the watch. I inherited my late father’s small collection which included this watch. That was 45 years ago. I still have it. Since then I have acquired about 50 more pocket watches. I think I have shown them all in this thread.

river rat · Apr 24, 2021

Never counted my pocket watches but Canuck you mite have me beat.

TexOmega · Apr 24, 2021

Without even trying, I bet all pocket watch collectors end up with a few Westclox examples.

this one came in a “lot” of various things and winds/runs.

perfect starter PW years ago...looks 1960-70’s and Made in USA.

noelekal · Apr 24, 2021

Canuck
My first pocket watch was a Westclox Pocket Dax that my watchmaker father gave me, in 1946. I took it to pieces in grade one, at my desk, at school. The teacher took it away from me. I have a shoe box of Westclox Dax today, but not my original. My second watch also was a 992. See the first posting in this thread. That’s the watch. I inherited my late father’s small collection which included this watch. That was 45 years ago. I still have it. Since then I have acquired about 50 more pocket watches. I think I have shown them all in this thread.

Looked up this Westclox model.
https://clockhistory.com/0/westclox/series/series-20-1.html

Canuck · Apr 24, 2021

When my late father opened his jewellery store 75 years ago, the price on a Pocket Dax was $4.75. I suspect their price when introduced was competitive with the Ingersoll Yankee, seen here. This on also runs. I clean it about every ten years. If I recall correctly, the Yankee was the first watch to actually sell for $1.00 the Ingersoll Brothers ran a five and dime store in New York.

Quite often, the Dax will be marked with the month and year of manufacture. I don’t see any marking on the Dax posted by @TexOmega .

Fritz · Apr 25, 2021

Canuck
When my late father opened his jewellery store 75 years ago, the price on a Pocket Dax was $4.75. I suspect their price when introduced was competitive with the Ingersoll Yankee, seen here. This on also runs. I clean it about every ten years. If I recall correctly, the Yankee was the first watch to actually sell for $1.00 the Ingersoll Brothers ran a five and dime store in New York.

Quite often, the Dax will be marked with the month and year of manufacture. I don’t see any marking on the Dax posted by @TexOmega .

Somewhere I saw an old advert for one of these dollar watches where the watch was guaranteed to be “boy proof”. This was accomplished by replacing the screws in the movement with rivets, so busy little fingers couldn’t get the plates apart.

Honestly now... who among us, as a young boy, ever tore anything apart they couldn’t get back together. I for one was a paragon of self control...

except the incident where I borrowed Dad’s 59 Olds Super 88 and left it blocking the street, but hey, I was only 4.

yeah, 4.

I heard about that for many years.😀

Canuck · Apr 25, 2021

Fritz
Somewhere I saw an old advert for one of these dollar watches where the watch was guaranteed to be “boy proof”. This was accomplished by replacing the screws in the movement with rivets, so busy little fingers couldn’t get the plates apart.

Honestly now... who among us, as a young boy, ever tore anything apart they couldn’t get back together. I for one was a paragon of self control...

except the incident where I borrowed Dad’s 59 Olds Super 88 and left it blocking the street, but hey, I was only 4.

yeah, 4.

I heard about that for many years.😀

The Dax that @TexOmega showed has rivets on the pillar plates, instead of screws. That might be considered “boy proof”. But 75 years ago, they were held together with screws. Another difference is that the later ones has aluminum plates. Mine had nickel plated brass plates. In my case, it was the fault of my parents that this happened. My father had his repair bench in our rented suite. AND, they gave me a small pen knife for Christmas, one year! I was mimicking my father when I took it apart.

The Ingersoll Yankee was apparently the first watch to ever be actually offered for a dollar. Notice that the one I showed is held together with screws!

noelekal · Apr 25, 2021

Fritz
Somewhere I saw an old advert for one of these dollar watches where the watch was guaranteed to be “boy proof”. This was accomplished by replacing the screws in the movement with rivets, so busy little fingers couldn’t get the plates apart.

Honestly now... who among us, as a young boy, ever tore anything apart they couldn’t get back together. I for one was a paragon of self control...

except the incident where I borrowed Dad’s 59 Olds Super 88 and left it blocking the street, but hey, I was only 4.

yeah, 4.

I heard about that for many years.😀

Yeah and it would block a lot of street too!

river rat · Apr 25, 2021

Been collecting military timepieces a long time I am different than most military collectors like I notice at MWR they only concentrate only on issued wristwatches if your really into the history of military timepieces it's on all of them clocks, wristwatches, pocket watches, chronometers it amazes me that most military timepiece collectors are short sided there are a few like me over at MWR who collect any thing military issue that keeps time. Here is my Elgin AN-5740 navigation watch issued to the US Air Corps in 1943 with a magnetic shielded shock absorbent metal canister. Think of the history these went through on a B-17 or B-25 or B-29 bomber were the navigator used this watch for navigation and this canister protected it from flack to me most military collectors are missing the point of collecting. This movement interesting they needed these fast for the war effort were they took off the shelf B.W. Raymond railroad movement and up-jeweled it so a 22 jewel movement they did not have the time to change jewel count on the movement so it's still marked 21 jewel and it's 22 jewel movement since it was up-jeweled for the sweep hand. Later ones were they were not in a rush since we were winning had the time to have correct jewel count on the movements. That metal canister I got two for 25 bucks apiece years ago a dam good deal at the time. I sold one at a NAWCC mart for 50 bucks so I got mine sort of for free.

Canuck · Apr 25, 2021

Here is what the pocketwatchdatabase.com says about @river rat ’s Elgin.

https://pocketwatchdatabase.com/search/result/elgin/41754171

The information above indicates that the Elgin isn’t railroad approved, it has almost everything it needs to be called railroad grade. It looks like 8 adjustments (5 position, heat, cold, isochronism), patent regulator, Breguet hairspring, etc. With the 24-hour dial, one might say it may have been passed in Canada. The listing doesn’t specify, but I’ll bet it is stem set, not lever set. The listing says that some of these were actually marked 22-jewels. Kim not a military collector, but that one is such a fine example, I mightn’t have turned it down.

My late father was in the RCAF as an instrument technician in WWI. He worked on aircraft instruments and watches. He might even have worked on a few of these.

Wlcutter · Apr 25, 2021

Neither of these are, to my knowledge, amazingly special or anything, but both are to me real enchanting.

Several years ago my dad was helping settle the estate of a local watch collector who'd apparently been fairly intense; there was nearly a million dollars of *just* pocket watches (my dad had stored them at his house for a bit, so had to increase the insurance). I ended up with a 23 jewel Bunn Special, which I loved. Since then only two others have made me hit the Buy button:

a. An old Hamilton about which I know nothing other than that it's lovely, makes me extremely happy to look at, and is in impeccable shape.

b. Another Bunn Special, this one 21 jewel, and which is identical to the one that nudged me over the edge, except this one's dial has no cracks, like the other.

Canuck · Apr 25, 2021

Welcome to the pocket watch fanatic thread. You’re among friends. Here is the skinny on your handsome Hamilton grade 924. This is an “unmarked” model, but the serial number helps identify it.

https://pocketwatchdatabase.com/search/result/hamilton/405937

The pocketwatchdatabase.com doesn’t have a listing for your Illinois, but there is a LOT to know about it. In 1927 or so, the Hamilton Watch Co. bought Illinois. Yours was made after the acquisition by Hamilton. Very collectible watch, and in very good condition.

-Illinois Watch Co.
-Springfield, Ill.
-model 161
-Grade Bunn Special
-Serial # 5441396 (circa 1931)
-Jewels 21
-Adjustments, 6 positions, heat, cold, isochronism (9 adjustments)
-Railroad approved, Yes.
-Other features. Dial marked 21-jewels 60-hour around the seconds bit. 14-karat white gold filled (veneer of gold over base metal), blued steel Breguet style hairspring, bi -metallic, temperature compensating balance wheel, many jewels in gold chatons, held in with screws, patent regulator, gold train wheels, 12-hour, double sunk vitreous enamel dial (small hairline below the centre of the dial), motor (or safety) barrel.

In the Meggers & Ehrhardt “blue book”, the grade 161 was the first model completed after Hamilton bought Illinois. Previous models, made by Illinois, had the abbreviation Co., after Illinois Watch. Hamilton dropped the Co. in the marking on the 161. Yours is marked thusly. The “blue book” indicates that the grade 161 had the “sixty hour” marked on the train bridge. Yours is marked “sixty hour” on the barrel bridge. Odd!

You have a great start to a pocket watch collection. Keep it up.

-

Fritz · Apr 25, 2021

noelekal

Yeah and it would block a lot of street too!

Thats it! Except it was blue, but thats the big pig!

what is that... 20 feet long!

and they had 14 inch wheels as standard for that long low look.

which meant it was always banging that big long ass on the ground when pulling into or out of a parking lot.

river rat · Apr 26, 2021

Here is a group shot of WW2 watches used for navigation by the US Army Air Corps in WW2 a Elgin AN5740 , Hamilton 4492B, Hamilton Model 23 chronograph, Elgin Stop watch. The stop watch in the group was my cheapest deal yet got it for 20 bucks at the Alameda Antique Fair did not run but a few drops of oil and she works these stop watches are so cheap to buy not worth paying more than it's worth for a service.

Canuck · Apr 26, 2021

I interpret your grouping as follows. The Hamilton chronograph is obvious, as is the Elgin stop watch. The Elgin AN 5740 and the Hamilton 4992B are both in cases. The dials are marked GCT, and otherwise, appear identical. Which is which? Looking at your previous post re: the Elgin, I’m assuming the Elgin is in the metal box, and the Hamilton in the wooden box? My only military items are an Elgin “jitterbug” timer, and two Hamilton marine chronometers. (Auto correct changed jitterbug to litterbug!)

river rat · Apr 26, 2021

Canuck
I interpret your grouping as follows. The Hamilton chronograph is obvious, as is the Elgin stop watch. The Elgin AN 5740 and the Hamilton 4992B are both in cases. The dials are marked GCT, and otherwise, appear identical. Which is which? Looking at your previous post re: the Elgin, I’m assuming the Elgin is in the metal box, and the Hamilton in the wooden box? My only military items are an Elgin “jitterbug” timer, and two Hamilton marine chronometers. (Auto correct changed jitterbug to litterbug!)

Your correct on ID. The jitterbugs timers I think are cool due to the small balance wheel when you look at the movement you think it's missing but it's there.

Canuck · Apr 26, 2021

“Jitterbug” timer, Elgin. The sweep seconds hand goes around the dial once every ten seconds, and the sub dial is the minutes totalizer. The small picture shows the tiny balance wheel which cycles (IIRC) 30 beats per second.

.

Canuck · Apr 27, 2021

So far in this thread, we haven’t had an Elgin “Convertible” pocket watch discussed. This is a model of pocket watch that is suitable for either open faced or hunter cases. It can easily be turned 90°, one way or the other. I don’t own one, but I have seen the odd one. Though it has been a while. There is a description on the pocketwatchdatabase.com site of this scarce, interesting, and very collectible watch. Anybody have one?

The watch:

https://pocketwatchdatabase.com/search/result/elgin/607081