Pocketwatches

[Shangas]

BTW - does anyone know why the pocket watch thread is in General Attire & Accoutrements but the vintage watch thread is in The Display Case? Is there some sort of peculiar logic to it or is it just to confuse use when we're trying to find the thread we're looking for?

I would theorise that this thread is HERE because it is about pocket watches, one of the cornerstones of vintage male jewellery.

On the other hand, the other thread is about DISPLAYING your vintage watches (pocket and wrist), and as it's a display-thread, that goes into the Display Case board.

 

[Mid-fogey]

I looked...

Do you know how old the South Bend is? From what I can see in the photo, it looks to be in pretty good condition.

...it up on a web site, and it's 1920s also. I had the exact year, based on serial numbers, but I can't find them. I guess I'll have to open up the watch and look them up again.

Interesting side bar: Uncle Sidney, whose watch this was, was the second husband to Aunt Sue. Aunt Sue's first husband was a farmer who was kicked in the head by a mule and died. Aunt Sue succcessfully ran the farm herself through two world wars and the depression when Virginia farms with their thin, poor, worn out top soil were being killed by the mechanized farms of the Midwest.

Aunt Sue only married very late in life, and according to my dad was a font of life wisdom.

 

[fluteplayer07]

Quick question: I've had the watch a couple days now, and I noticed it doesn't seem to be holding it's wind. After a couple hours of wearing it, it stops running (usually 5 hours or so), but when I wound it the night before and let it sit, it ran all through the night, and into this morning. Is something wrong?

 

[Shangas]

How many times do you turn the crown? A working pocket-watch should take at least a dozen turns before it's fully wound. For those dozen-or-so turns, you should get at least 30 hours' of ticking-time.

If it's not working, then send it back to the watchmaker and explain what's happening.

You haven't dropped it, banged it or bumped it really bad, have you? That could cause the watch to stop working properly.

 

[fluteplayer07]

This morning, I wound it about 10-12 times, until I felt resistance. I put in my pocket, wore it out to Tim Horton's to bring home breakfast, ate, put it on my desk, and did some yard work. It stopped running after about 6 hours, I'd say. Then I rewound it, but it only needed about 2 or 3 turns before I felt resistance and it started running again. I don't remember banging it; only the normal amount of force with setting it gently on my desk or table, and I certainly didn't drop it. To me, it appears that it runs longer when it's set on a desk or something similar, but loses it's power when I carry it on me.

 

[Shangas]

A watch should run, regardless of what position it's in. I say take it back to your watchmaker and get him to have a look at it. I had a similar problem to you once, and I explained what happened to my watchmaker. He tested it and said it ran properly, but I wasn't convinced. He had his friend look at it and realised that some pocket-lint had gotten into the works (as it can do, if the watch has been in your pocket for a long time) and was causing problems.

He very graciously gave it a free cleaning and service and it works fine now. That may be the cause with yours, or it may be that it just needs to be reassembled.

 

[Mid-fogey]

I'll second...

...that.

A pocket watch is designed to be wound once a day. Manufacturer's specs vary, but usually the watches were designed to run 30 or more hours to allow the user to wind the watch at a set time each day and never have the watch run down in the course of normal use.

If your watch won't run a full day without winding, there is something wrong with it. The cause can be a number of things. A good cleaning and inspection is probably in order.

 

[fluteplayer07]

I just got it back from the repair shop, which overhauled the watch completely. It was sitting broken in a box for at least a good 20 years. Did they just do something wrong?

The thing I have noticed is that if I wind it only once in a day, then it runs fine. But if I wind it again later in the day to make sure that it won't stop running, even a little, then it stops a couple hours later. Should I only wind the watch one time per day, and not worry about it stopping?

 

[jamespowers]

I just got it back from the repair shop, which overhauled the watch completely. It was sitting broken in a box for at least a good 20 years. Did they just do something wrong?

The thing I have noticed is that if I wind it only once in a day, then it runs fine. But if I wind it again later in the day to make sure that it won't stop running, even a little, then it stops a couple hours later. Should I only wind the watch one time per day, and not worry about it stopping?

You definitely have a problem there. I would contact the watch repair shop and tell him the problem. When a watch does not run in all positions or stops after only a few hours of operation then something is wrong. It could be dirt, the balance or a few other factors but something is wrong if you can't use it as a carry watch. I would send it back if I were you. A good watchmaker will always stand behind his work.

 

[Michaelson]

Sounds like a balance staff problem, doesn't it?

Regards !Michaelson

 

[jamespowers]

Sounds like a balance staff problem, doesn't it?

Regards !Michaelson

Yes, it does but I haven't worked on pocketwatches in so long that I don't want to go too far out on a limb.

 

[Michaelson]

lol

 

[Shangas]

I think this thread is jinxed. Yesterday my railroad watch fell out of my pocket and hit the floor (even with the chain attached...I was on my knees doing some cleaning). Fortunately it hit a nice thick rug on a carpeted floor, but I think it still suffered some minor damage (it's not ticking the way that it should, and that has me seriously concerned).

It has shock-protection, but I don't think that this safeguard has protected it in this instance as it has in other sudden falls from grace. I emailed my watchie and he said to bring it in as soon as convenient for an examination and not to run it in the meantime. I'm all tied up at the moment, but I'll take it in next week.

I'm *hoping* that it's just a minor misalignment that can be repaired for free under his one-year-from-date-of-last-service guarantee...

Wish me luck!

In the meantime, my 1899 Waltham is my timekeeper...

 

[fluteplayer07]

Sorry to hear that! Terrible when that sort of stuff happens. Best wishes to you and your watch. Just out of curiosity, how many watches do you own?

And general watch question: What is a 'lever set movement' as referred to earlier in this thread? Crown set? Balance staff?

 

[Shangas]

I've got three pocket-watches.

1957 Ball railroad chronometer (the watch you see in my avatar).
1899 Waltham M1895.
1918 Elgin.

Respectively, 21j, 7j, 15j.

A 'lever-set' watch is one that has a setting-lever. You uncrew the bezel over the watch-dial and pull out the lever (at the 11 or 1 o'clock position) and then turn the crown to set the time. Then you push the lever back in and screw the bezel back on. My Ball is a lever-set. All railroad watches had to be, by law, to prevent erroneous time-setting.

The 'crown' is the knurled round knob at the top of your pocket-watch, the thing you turn to wind it up. Most pocket-watches are 'crown-set', meaning that you pull out the crown and turn it to reset the hands and push it back in to keep it on the correct time.

The 'balance staff' is the main axle inside the watch. Attached to the 'balance wheel', it swings back and forth, regulated by the hairspring, to keep the watch running. The balance staff and the stuff around it is the heart of the watch. If a balance-staff is broken...the watch won't run.

 

[fluteplayer07]

Nice watches and thanks for the info.

If I wind the watch more than once a day, will it cause it to prematurely stop running like what's going on with me? Is it detrimental to the watch? Or just unnecessary?

 

[Shangas]

A watch should be left alone once wound. And it should only be wound once a day.

Winding it more than once a day is not damaging to the watch, but it's wholly unnecessary. Your watch should NOT cease functioning if you wind it more than once a day. If it is, it's broken and needs servicing.

 

[jamespowers]

I think this thread is jinxed. Yesterday my railroad watch fell out of my pocket and hit the floor (even with the chain attached...I was on my knees doing some cleaning). Fortunately it hit a nice thick rug on a carpeted floor, but I think it still suffered some minor damage (it's not ticking the way that it should, and that has me seriously concerned).

It has shock-protection, but I don't think that this safeguard has protected it in this instance as it has in other sudden falls from grace. I emailed my watchie and he said to bring it in as soon as convenient for an examination and not to run it in the meantime. I'm all tied up at the moment, but I'll take it in next week.

I'm *hoping* that it's just a minor misalignment that can be repaired for free under his one-year-from-date-of-last-service guarantee...

Wish me luck!

In the meantime, my 1899 Waltham is my timekeeper...

Does the watch run in all positions? If it doesn't then you have a problem. The incabloc will work for minor falls but you can still damage the balance staff if it falls hard enough. Having a three year old is one of those situations where it can fall hard enough.
Incabloc:

 

[Shangas]

Hi James,

The watch is a late 1950s-early 1960s Swiss-made Ball railroad watch and it does have Incabloc shock-protection. It fell out of my pocket onto a rug on a carpet (a grand distance of about twelve inches).

When I picked it up again, I could hear the ticking, but also a sort of flat, metallic plucking sound, as if the balance was catching on something. It was a soft "plink-plink-plink..." I don't know what's wrong, but I do know that it's not natural, because it's never made that sound before.

The watch still runs in all positions and it didn't lose time, but I won't run it again until I've taken it to, and back from, my watchmaker.

 

[Elgin1924]

My Pocket Watches:

Pocket watches are a great interest of mine, yet I only own two vintage ones. Here are the two:

First, an unknown make of Open Faced Ladies Watch, presumably Edwardian:

Inside Dustcover reads: Guaranteed to be made of Solid Gold, Strengthened with a Plate of Composition and to wear for years.

Most likely Seven Jewels

Front Face:

Back Engravings + Vacant Cartouche:

Movement:

Next comes a Gold-Filled 1924 Elgin Hunter Watch (my namesake):

Front Face:

Movement:

It has no engravings on the front or back, just plain, albeit brassed, rolled gold...

Regards,

Tommy