# Pocket Watch Week - WHYG?



## JoT (Aug 12, 2003)

Let's see your pocket watches!

I currently have nine, with two exceptiona all working well. Nothing particularly valuable or rare but I get a lot of pleasure from handling, winding and setting them :biggrin:

Seven of them pictured below as my Smiths has gone missing, probably somewhere safe! And an English fusee watch with a Faversham signed dial has been at a watch repairers so long I doubt I will ever see it again.

Back row L to R:

Lancashire Watch Co English Lever movement.

American Waltham Watch Co (A.W.W.Co), Am.W.Co movement with a serial number which dates it Sep 1887 to Mar 1888, key wound and front set, the movement is housed in a Birmingham hallmarked silver case dated 1897 with the A●B maker's mark of Waltham Watch Company in England which was based in London.

Elgin National Watch Co., G.M.Wheeler Grade 82 movement, stem wound and lever set, serial number dates the watch to 1895, case is nickel by Illinois Watch Case Co.

Middle Row l to R:

Full Hunter cased with an English movement, possibly Coventry made, dial signed R. Richardson a Middlesbrough jeweller. The movement is stem wound and set, possibly early 1920's, case might be later as it is engraved with a 1934 inscription. Needs some work, the pawl is missing and probably needs a new main spring, not sure what to do with it.

Rotherham and Sons, Coventry movement and case, dial and movement signed Russells Limited, Liverpool, silver case with a 1906 hallmark is in great condition. Stem wound and pin set.

Doxa pocket watch with an FHF movement signed A.G. Mascall a Middlesbrough jeweller, the case is signed Doxa and is made from Argentan (nickel, copper, zinc alloy), dated 1920's.

Bottom row:

Last but not least a small West End Watch Co pocket watch made almost exclusively for the India market, this one date from about 1937. Many were issued to public servants, railways etc


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## Highland Laddie (May 12, 2012)

Three for me and just realised I don't have a pic of my Omega PW on here. I'll get on that this week :thumbs_up:


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## Ugg10 (Nov 26, 2020)

My Grandad's pocket watch and chain. Asa watch nothing spectacular but important to me.


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## bowie (Mar 12, 2005)

iv'e got more but cannot find them


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## spinynorman (Apr 2, 2014)

bowie said:


> iv'e got more but cannot find them


 For some reason I never thought you could get a case for pocket watches. That one's very smart, now I'm off to see what I can find. :thumbsup:


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## SolaVeritate (Mar 21, 2021)

I sometimes pop this little thing in my pocket..

















No chain, no connector for it. It can bobble about with my pocketfluff quite happily without care, a bit of fun really


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## Karrusel (Aug 13, 2016)

Just a couple for now...

1892 Silver cased Rotherham & Son, Coventry.




























1929 Gold cased Rotherham & Son, Coventry.



















1878 Silver cased Adam Burdess, Coventry.




























Gold cased Bahne Bonniksen 'Karrusel', Coventry.




























1920 Thomas Russell & Son.




























1951 Elgin 'Railroad'




























1911 Silver cased Stauffer Son & Co.



















1827 Vale & Rotherham, Coventry, Silver 'Pair cased' Verge Fusse.























































How many PW's. Goliath's, Deck/Dashboard clocks, haven't a clue...certainly not enough!

:biggrin:


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## spinynorman (Apr 2, 2014)

Karrusel said:


> Just a couple for now...
> 
> 1892 Silver cased Rotherham & Son, Coventry.
> 
> ...


 Awesome collection. :notworthy:


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## Welsh Wizard (Jun 18, 2021)

I did have quite a large selection of Pocket watches earlier this year but decided to off load the Smiths and Ingersolls as they were popping up on ebay all the time. I have however retained two working pocket watches that I particularly like.

The first one is a

The Dreadnaught, I believe was a watch produced by the Record Watch Company SA and was based in Tramelan, Geneva, Switzerland.

It manufactured watches from 1903 and I believe that this watch is probably a 1920s Dreadnought pocket watch.

The watch has a good quality Dreadnought stem-winding movement, with jeweled pallets, a whiplash regulator and damascening, which is working nicely. The movement is protected by an inner hinged cover.

The watch itself measures 50.7mm diameter excluding the winding stem and the loop. The case is gold plated and made by ALD Dennison, Birmingham. The case has light surface marks from use but overall, it is in nice condition.

The watch lens is glass and is in nice condition with only the odd minor mark.The white enamel dial has a faint hairline crack towards the 1 o'clock although hardly noticeable.















The second pocket watch is my Vintage Art Deco GT Revue Pocket watch

Case material Yellow Gold (Gold Plated) with a clear good condition yellow gold dial embossed with Arabic Numerals. It is a Gedeon Thommen Revue Mechanical Movement Pocket watch dating back to the 1920s.

Gold Hunter Slim-line Pocket Watch quality 17 jewel Revue swiss mechanical manual wind-up movement in fully working condition circa 1920's the elegant slim-line Case serial no. 2673626 size 50mm with diamond shaped engraved pattern with beading around which matches the gold diamond patterned dial with raised gold stylized numerals surrounded by outer ring indicator for 24hr clock and chaptered seconds dial at 6 o'clock



























Both of these watches I wear on a regular basis either with my jeans when I wear them in a case on my belt or with my jacket where they are worn in the breast pocket secured by a leather lapel strap


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## Rotundus (May 7, 2012)

Is anyone making modern, not quartz, decent quality pocket watches ?

Have had Smiths, Ingersol & various Turkish Railway pocket watches in the past but they have all been vintage.

Whats out there folks ? If fit helps to avoid thread hijacking you could just pm me links :thumbsup:


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## Roger the Dodger (Oct 5, 2009)

I've just posted all that I've got/had in the newly founded pocket watch owners club, so won't re-post here, but you can see them here...

http://xflive.thewatchforum.co.uk/index.php?/topic/151188-pocket-watch-owners-club/&tab=comments&do=embed&comment=1597060&embedComment=1597060&embedDo=findComment#comment-1597060


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## spinynorman (Apr 2, 2014)

Rotundus said:


> Is anyone making modern, not quartz, decent quality pocket watches ?
> 
> Have had Smiths, Ingersol & various Turkish Railway pocket watches in the past but they have all been vintage.
> 
> Whats out there folks ? If fit helps to avoid thread hijacking you could just pm me links :thumbsup:


 Without hijacking too much, Jean Pierre, Greenwich and Mount Royal could be worth a search.


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## spinynorman (Apr 2, 2014)

I have a few.

John Bennett, Cheapside, London, silver case 1872.



George Trorey's shop, which was sold to Henry Birks Ltd of Montreal in 1907. George stayed on as manager till 1914 and was the Canadian Pacific Railroad watch inspector for Vancouver.

[URL=https://flic.kr/p/2bJTAes]

Mysterious Sackville "Railway Lever", could be from the 1930s up to 1950s. Movement is a Junghans J55, which was developed for Ingersoll and used in their Regent range, but was also used by Junghans themselves. Most Sackville watches use a script typeface for the name, use Helvetia movements and have case marks owned by General Watch Co. I have no idea what relation this has to the GWC Sackvilles, if any, or to Sackville wind up gramophones from the same period.


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## Ging (Feb 25, 2017)

this is the only one i own it was awarded to my grandad in 1936 for saving a woman who fell through the ice on the canal . he was on the way to work when he saw her go through and jumped in and saved her . i plan to get it serviced and cleaned but leave some patina on some day . my dad had some fingers fitted about 20 years ago so im not sure if they are correct but they didnt have second finger it does run for about 1 hr when wound ive no idea how much that would cost though.









































sorry about having to tilt your head for some of them


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## chas g (Nov 20, 2016)

Ging said:


> this is the only one i own it was awarded to my grandad in 1936 for saving a woman who fell through the ice on the canal . he was on the way to work when he saw her go through and jumped in and saved her . i plan to get it serviced and cleaned but leave some patina on some day . my dad had some fingers fitted about 20 years ago so im not sure if they are correct but they didnt have second finger it does run for about 1 hr when wound ive no idea how much that would cost though.
> 
> View attachment 37207
> 
> ...


 Very brave man considering it was November and the canal was covered in ice. Be nice to get it cleaned and serviced but personally i wouldnt have it polished.


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## Karrusel (Aug 13, 2016)

@spinynorman

Some lovely pieces Sir!

Particularly the Wilday with diamond end stone, along with the second John Bennett & Omega, both with compensated balances.

Believe both the Bennett's house Coventry made movements?

:thumbsup:


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## Ging (Feb 25, 2017)

chas g said:


> Very brave man considering it was November and the canal was covered in ice. Be nice to get it cleaned and serviced but personally i wouldnt have it polished.


 i wont have it polished just cleaned


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## Welsh Wizard (Jun 18, 2021)

Ging said:


> dad had some fingers fitted about 20 years ago so im not sure if they are correct but they didnt have second finger it does run for about 1 hr when wound ive no idea how much that would cost though.


 I presume you mean hands. Although I have stripped and rebuilt a number of pocket watches over the years I don't profess to be an expert but for something as sentimental as this timepiece it might well be worth finding a good watchmaker and getting a quote to restore it. Watches from this era tend to be quite robust and being a Waltham it shouldn't be too difficult to source spare parts particularly hands.

Good luck and thanks for sharing your story with us


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## Ging (Feb 25, 2017)

Welsh Wizard said:


> I presume you mean hands. Although I have stripped and rebuilt a number of pocket watches over the years I don't profess to be an expert but for something as sentimental as this timepiece it might well be worth finding a good watchmaker and getting a quote to restore it. Watches from this era tend to be quite robust and being a Waltham it should be too difficult to source spare parts particularly hands.
> 
> Good luck and thanks for sharing your story with us
> View attachment 37215
> ...


 yes hands not sure where i got fingers from must have been a brain fart lol. forgot to mention the case is made of silver


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## spinynorman (Apr 2, 2014)

Karrusel said:


> Believe both the Bennett's house Coventry made movements


 That's interesting, thank you. The Berry is too. You told me that some time ago.


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## mrzee (Jun 22, 2012)

I only own one and it certainly isn't as pretty as the examples above.

I does keep excellent time though!


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

spinynorman said:


> I have a few.
> 
> John Bennett, Cheapside, London, silver case 1872.
> 
> ...


 It's interesting that you mentioned old West Hartlepool and coincidence that you stuck a like on my boat pictures in the camera phone thread.

http://xflive.thewatchforum.co.uk/index.php?/topic/119290-phone-camera-pics/&page=12&do=embed

My pictures are from what was one of the old West Hartlepool docks.

It was a thriving area at one time although Berry's is long gone. I know a bloke that collects old photos of Hartlepool, I'll pass yours on and ask if he knows anything about it.

Cheers

B.

Some useless information that may or may not interest you.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Hartlepool


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## spinynorman (Apr 2, 2014)

BondandBigM said:


> It's interesting that you mentioned old West Hartlepool and coincidence that you stuck a like on my boat pictures in the camera phone thread.
> 
> http://xflive.thewatchforum.co.uk/index.php?/topic/119290-phone-camera-pics/&page=12&do=embed
> 
> ...


 That's interesting, thanks. I guess the old docks area has become gentrified, compared to what it was. 

I did some research on the Berrys, and discovered George Allan Berry was the son of James Berry, who was a clockmaker and nautical instrument maker working in Aberdeen from the 1830s - 1860s. George Allan's son, George Frank Berry was born in Cardiff in 1859, but by the 1881 census the family was living in Church Street, West Hartlepool. Both the Georges were watchmakers. In 1885 George Frank and his wife Margaret had a son, George Ernest, who I suppose is the G. E. Berry of the photo, though that would make the date more like the early 1900s. It appears the family emigrated to Toronto in 1910, so they really moved around.

Here's a ship's pelorus signed Berrry and Son, West Hartlepool, and part of a sextant, signed G. F. Berry.















A pocket watch signed G. F. Berry, West Hartlepool and another signed Jas Berry, Aberdeen.


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## JoT (Aug 12, 2003)

Nothing fancy but a watch which has been with me underground since 1978 (and the occasional walk to see the ducks!)

I bought it from a long since closed independent jeweller in Whitby along with a rubber shroud, it was old stock so he gave me a small discount. The fob was given to me by a mining equipment sales rep a few years later. The original rubber shroud started to perish the one pictured is a replacement I managed to find a few years ago


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## JoT (Aug 12, 2003)

Lancashire Watch Co English Lever movement (although I believe at this time LWC were using a Swiss lever escapement). Another oddity is that the movement has what is known as a dummy fusee so it winds in the anticlockwise direction the same as earlier genuine fusee watches, the hands are front set which is a bit fiddly unless you have a key with a rotating top. Silver case, hallmark indicates the watch is from 1901 which sounds about right. I will take the dust cover off and take a photo of the movement when I get chance


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## Bricey (Apr 7, 2021)

JoT said:


> Lancashire Watch Co English Lever movement (although I believe at this time LWC were using a Swiss lever escapement). Another oddity is that the movement has what is known as a dummy fusee so it winds in the anticlockwise direction the same as earlier genuine fusee watches, the hands are front set which is a bit fiddly unless you have a key with a rotating top. Silver case, hallmark indicates the watch is from 1901 which sounds about right. I will take the dust cover off and take a photo of the movement when I get chance


 That is really beautiful.

Oftentimes Roman Numerals feel a little unbalanced to me, but they seem to have a symmetry (albeit with a slight offset) to them here that I'd not really noticed before and it just looks beautifully laid put.


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## JoT (Aug 12, 2003)

JoT said:


> Lancashire Watch Co English Lever movement (although I believe at this time LWC were using a Swiss lever escapement). Another oddity is that the movement has what is known as a dummy fusee so it winds in the anticlockwise direction the same as earlier genuine fusee watches, the hands are front set which is a bit fiddly unless you have a key with a rotating top. Silver case, hallmark indicates the watch is from 1901 which sounds about right. I will take the dust cover off and take a photo of the movement when I get chance


 The movement with the dust cover removed


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## Karrusel (Aug 13, 2016)

JoT said:


> The movement with the dust cover removed
> 
> 
> 
> I agree it is a cracking dial, I love the bold numerals


 Nice timepiece, going barrel, with quality bi-metallic compensated balance.. Unable to determine, from the image, if it has a Breguet over coil hairspring?

Unusual spring clip on the dust cover, '3' pips, have only seen a few with this arrangement previously, normality only 1.

Believe these timepieces, with this style of dial, would be used/worn (mainly) by employees of the Railway/Postal service.

:thumbsup:


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## JoT (Aug 12, 2003)

Karrusel said:


> Nice timepiece, going barrel, with quality bi-metallic compensated balance.. Unable to determine, from the image, if it has a Breguet over coil hairspring?
> 
> Unusual spring clip on the dust cover, '3' pips, have only seen a few with this arrangement previously, normality only 1.
> 
> ...


 Great info, thank you :yes:


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## spinynorman (Apr 2, 2014)

Talking of unusual dust cover opening arrangements, this one on the Sir John B., puzzled me for a bit.


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## Karrusel (Aug 13, 2016)

Couple more...

1914 14k JB.



















Retailed by HALLMARK, New York importer/retailer.

1871 Silver cased NEGRETTI & ZAMBRA ........? 





































Cased by Richard Oliver (Snr), London.



















:biggrin:


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