There is a specific style of pocket watch that attracts me most and that style tends to be seen in the Swiss industry more than the American. In that spirit, I was very pleased to find a Hamilton with a design different from their usual - with a two-tone dial. Very attractive in a 14k gold filled case. After some research, I located it in an advert.

It came with a touching note.

The movement is a testament to the American tradition.

I will be on the look out for a "Gould" model. One sold recently - but I felt the seconds hand was replaced. Picture attached!

EDIT: Upon further thought, I think the last picture actually also shows a "Shand" model - as it seems to be referring to the case rather than the dial.

 

Fabulous!

 

Not nearly as collectible as the larger watches, but I really like the 10 size movements, and in particular the 921. The 917 and 945 are nice as well, but the 921's decoration is just top notch. Not being as collectible as the larger watches, many cases were melted on these for the gold, and I have repurposed some of the orphaned movements in the past:



Although I don't do these anymore they were reasonably popular when I was making them...



Here's some 945 photos I came across in my bucket...







Cheers, Al

 

Very beautiful work, Al. Every once in a while, I still see one of your watches pop up for sale on the used market.

May I ask why you stopped producing them?

The movements really are beautiful.

 

Thanks. There were a few reasons, but the primary one was that they became unprofitable...or at least were not as profitable as other things I could spend my time on were. One reason for this was simply the work needed to get these watches running to my standards to put into a watch meant that a lot had to be invested in the movements in parts and time. In addition, the prices on these orphaned movements seemed to be going up all the time, so those 2 things combined made it not worth my while to do any longer. When the run of custom cases ran out, I didn't get any more made.

Many of the movements available were not suitable for use in a watch, so it was not uncommon for me to have to buy 5 of these to get 1 or 2 that were good enough to be used in a watch. For whatever reason, these American pocket watches tend to be hacked up by "watchmakers" over the years far more than Swiss watches of the same era.

I also did have a couple come back with broken balance staffs. Although I think they are quite fine for everyday use, the balances on these do not have shock protection, and with the large balance wheel if the watch was dropped, it would almost always result in a broken staff. When someone would ask about buying one of these, I would write them a long note explaining that the watch had to be handled with some care, but even after acknowledging that, I had some people come back to me upset that the staff broke when they dropped it. One guy claimed he didn't do anything to it, but when the watch came back to have the staff changed one lug was smashed in pretty well...

I don't like having unsatisfied customers (even if it's not my fault) so after a while it got a bit old...

BTW I have a bunch of parts for these 10 size watches if you ever need them. I bought out a parts supplier once and took all the 10 size Hamilton parts he had, so let me know if yours ever needs anything.

Cheers, Al

 

Beautiful! I'm curious - do you use pocket watches often? I'm thinking one of these would be cool to own, but maybe not so practical to use? Between my wallet, phone, and keys, I'm not sure where I'd put it so it doesn't get scratched up. Also, if I'm taking something out of my pocket to check the time...might as well check my phone?

Maybe I'm not thinking about this from the right point of view...

 

I don't wear my pocket watches very often - and usually only for a few hours. I guess I'm ok with that, since I don't wear my vintage watches very much, anyway. I don't like to wear unserviced watches and I'm too cheap to have them serviced.

If you're going to make the argument that wearing a pocket watch is silly because you could check your phone, you could just as easily make the argument that wearing a mechanical watch is silly because you could buy a quartz. People don't wear or own these things to be practical.

If you wear jeans, some manufacturers still attach pocket watch pockets within the left or right pocket. Otherwise, you can keep it in your back pocket or in a vest or jacket, if you're being fancy.