As promised, here it is, my pocket watch. It was my father's and grandfather's pocket watch. In 2001 I sent it to Omega in Switzerland in order to get an estimate for a complete restoration. Unfortunately the answer was "... a careful examination has revealed that the timepiece is heavily corroded for being restored. As the needed parts are unfortunately no longer available, a repair is not possible (...)" Anyway, this watch will be serviced soon by a local watchmaker who said that he will try to bring it back to life, even if he needs to build any specific part...


Any comments, thoughts and advices will be much appreciated. Thanks to all.

 

A real shame, because it is (or was) a nice watch. It looks as if it got very wet at some point, and then was left standing with some water still in it while the watch was in an upright position. Consequently there is heavy corrosion of the movement in a localised area, and lighter corrosion on the steel parts everywhere else.

These pocket watches, particularly the steel ones like this, are not worth a great deal, so the cost of repairs (if repairs are possible) may well outweigh the value of the watch. However, many of the gold-cased versions got melted down for scrap, which means that it may be possible to find an uncased movement from the period (1930s) which could fit your watch.

 

Thank you, John, but I will try to get it serviced without any positive expectation. For sentimental reasons I don't want another movement. I am not a collector, I just love watches and want to keep the memory of my father and grandfather also through their pocket watch which is mine now. I have a remote hope to see it working again...

 

When restored, it will be a beautiful tribute to your family!

 

Bad shape - a donor movement to use for parts would make the job go a lot smoother. I'm guessing it will need a lot of parts, and I doubt your local guy is going to remake all the wheels and pinions. That would take a long time and cost you a ton of money...

 

Hi everybody. Following to the story and pictures above, and after 4 months of service, I'm very happy with the "miracle" achieved. My watchmaker still had several spare parts of this caliber, so there was no need to remake the wheels or any other parts. Incredible, but it's true. I think my father and grandfather would be very happy too with the results. I needed to share this with all of you. Any comments will be appreciated. Thank you.

 

Great post and we all thank you for the follow up. That is one nice pocket watch and one great watchmaker you have there.

 

Looks like a job well done - you are lucky to have someone with the parts for a watch like this!

Cheers, Al

 

Your watchmaker did a great job! Glad you didn't listen to Omega...

 

Well, regarding the accuracy of this watch, with face up is gaining about 30 seconds in 24 hours. But with crown up (in a stand), there is almost no gain or loss! Maybe one second or two. I'm very pleased with that.

 

A superb job, and you made the right decisions. I think your watchmaker deserves congratulations, too

 

Top Drawer restoration