# New Watch Fobs.



## AlanJohn (Mar 17, 2011)

A shooting theme watch fob. by velocipede228822, on Flickr

This is a fob I picked up at a flea market and antiques fair at Carmarthen.


----------



## AlanJohn (Mar 17, 2011)

The other side. by velocipede228822, on Flickr

The other side of shooting fob.


----------



## AlanJohn (Mar 17, 2011)

A silver fob and a silver swivel fob. by velocipede228822, on Flickr

Two more watch fobs had at the fair. One swivel and the other a silver, plain one side, the other side marked 1929.


----------



## AlanJohn (Mar 17, 2011)

the other side of fobs. by velocipede228822, on Flickr

The other side of the swivel and silver fob.


----------



## AlanJohn (Mar 17, 2011)

A half silver dollar watch fob. by velocipede228822, on Flickr

A silver half dollar. 1920. Drilled for a fob.


----------



## AlanJohn (Mar 17, 2011)

The other side of silver half dollar. by velocipede228822, on Flickr

The other side of the half silver dollar fob.


----------



## Roger the Dodger (Oct 5, 2009)

The swivelling fob looks like Sardonyx on one side (the bluish colour) and bloodstone on the other. Very nice indeed. You could have the Sardonyx engraved with you initials if you could find someone to do it.


----------



## Shangas (Jan 27, 2008)

The initials have to be engraved in reverse. That swivel-fob is a sealing-stamp for pressing over sealing-wax.


----------



## AlanJohn (Mar 17, 2011)

Thanks for the information Shangas and Roger. But I think I will just leave it as it is.It looks just right.


----------



## AlanJohn (Mar 17, 2011)

Shield shaped fob. Silver. by velocipede228822, on Flickr

A very nice silver fob in the shape of a shield with a brass of gold centre. Bought at a ca boot sale.


----------



## AlanJohn (Mar 17, 2011)

Reverse side of shield fob. by velocipede228822, on Flickr

Reverse side of the silveer shield shaped fob. The hallmark is too worn to tell the letter for the age.


----------



## AlanJohn (Mar 17, 2011)

Fob army by velocipede228822, on Flickr

A nice silver fob had at a car boot sale.This was presented for valour in the field as will be seen from the reverse side.The centre is brass or gold.


----------



## AlanJohn (Mar 17, 2011)

A silver fob bought at a boot sale. by velocipede228822, on Flickr

The reverse side of a previous shown fob with the inscription clearly seen to have been presented to private Phibben for valour 1916. Presented by the sailor and soldier welcoming committee at Ystradgynlais.


----------



## a6cjn (Oct 29, 2009)

Looks like you've been bitten by the bug Alan

I used to have a huge collection of fobs at one time but they went along with the watch and chain collection.

At the time, I got what I thought was a good deal, obviously now, worth far more but I did keep a few back

I used to have a number of what I called 'Maltese Cross' designs, like your Pte.Phibben one, always looked nice on a chain I thought.

It seems as if they are becoming very collectable now

This one went for over Â£140 on flea bay this week










Alan you might want to consider one of those little ultra sonic cleaners that they do in Lidl and such places, under Â£20, easy to use and are ideal for polishing and cleaning your fobs and chains.

Chris


----------



## Shangas (Jan 27, 2008)

I have an ultrasonic cleaner. Very useful for cleaning jewellery like watch-chains and fobs and fiddly things like rings and necklaces.


----------



## AlanJohn (Mar 17, 2011)

a6cjn said:


> Looks like you've been bitten by the bug Alan
> 
> I used to have a huge collection of fobs at one time but they went along with the watch and chain collection.
> 
> ...


That is a beautifull fob, I really like it. Yes, it seems I have been buying far too much in the way of fobs lately, but have had some real bargains too.I'll have to look out for the ultrasonic cleaner,can you tell me more about it? Trouble with Lidle is they never have the same things for longer than a week.


----------



## AlanJohn (Mar 17, 2011)

brush fob by velocipede228822, on Flickr

A new siver brush fob. Sorry it is a bit fuzzy.I'll have to take another photoe.I'm not sure you call them brush, but that what it looks like.


----------



## AlanJohn (Mar 17, 2011)

keyfob by velocipede228822, on Flickr

A silver watch key fob. Spring loaded, so that when you press the back,it opens and grips.A bit of damage on it, but I thought is unusual.


----------



## AlanJohn (Mar 17, 2011)

swivel watch fob. by velocipede228822, on Flickr

A siver swivel fob I picked up on ebay with the previous two. The stone is the same on both sides.


----------



## AlanJohn (Mar 17, 2011)

Shangas said:


> I have an ultrasonic cleaner. Very useful for cleaning jewellery like watch-chains and fobs and fiddly things like rings and necklaces.


What does this ultra sonic cleaner look like Shangas? Can you show a photoe of it?


----------



## Shangas (Jan 27, 2008)

This is a typical household ultrasonic cleaner. Mine is of a similar size.

You plug it in, you fill the cleaner with water, drop your jewellery into it (or whatever else needs cleaning) and then you turn it on for a pre-determined period of time (anywhere from thirty seconds to two minutes).

The cleaner lets out little sonic bursts that vibrates the water and agitates whatever grime and crap is trapped on the jewellery, shaking it loose. It's very useful for cleaning jewellery when there's little areas (clasps, for example) where you couldn't just clean and polish as usual.

Once the cycle is done, you fish the jewellery out, dry it, polish it and then pour away the water.


----------



## AlanJohn (Mar 17, 2011)

Shangas said:


> This is a typical household ultrasonic cleaner. Mine is of a similar size.
> 
> You plug it in, you fill the cleaner with water, drop your jewellery into it (or whatever else needs cleaning) and then you turn it on for a pre-determined period of time (anywhere from thirty seconds to two minutes).
> 
> ...


Thanks for the photoe Shangas. I have bought one I found on amazon.com, just waiting for it to arrive now.


----------



## Mechanical Alarm (Oct 18, 2010)

In the old days, I used to work for an electronics firm that had these large commercial Ultrasonic cleaners. These things were beasts that held several gallons of 'cleaner'. They also had heating elements in them to make the process more effective. Big old dipping baskets, etc. The cleaner I was referring to was straight Freon! We had pallets of gallon containers of Freon for our use. I can still see the layer of fumes from the heated tank and remember the smell - not bad. We used to get in there and swirl the parts around with our hands, etc.! Can you imagine? The EPA would be throwing fits not to mention OSHA!

Boy..., did those parts come out clean! I think we only destroyed about half of the ozone layer! No idea what we did to our bodies - I don't want to know!


----------



## AlanJohn (Mar 17, 2011)

Mechanical Alarm said:


> In the old days, I used to work for an electronics firm that had these large commercial Ultrasonic cleaners. These things were beasts that held several gallons of 'cleaner'. They also had heating elements in them to make the process more effective. Big old dipping baskets, etc. The cleaner I was referring to was straight Freon! We had pallets of gallon containers of Freon for our use. I can still see the layer of fumes from the heated tank and remember the smell - not bad. We used to get in there and swirl the parts around with our hands, etc.! Can you imagine? The EPA would be throwing fits not to mention OSHA!
> 
> Boy..., did those parts come out clean! I think we only destroyed about half of the ozone layer! No idea what we did to our bodies - I don't want to know!


Sounds alarming to say the least. Best not to know. The good old days. Certainly no nanny state then.LOL.


----------



## AlanJohn (Mar 17, 2011)

AlanJohn said:


> Shangas said:
> 
> 
> > This is a typical household ultrasonic cleaner. Mine is of a similar size.
> ...


Had my untrasonic cleaner today, and I will show the result of one of my fobs after cleaning, once I have photographed it.The first fob on this forum section is the most spectacular contrast.so I'll show that one.


----------



## AlanJohn (Mar 17, 2011)

AlanJohn said:


> A shooting theme watch fob. by velocipede228822, on Flickr
> 
> This is a fob I picked up at a flea market and antiques fair at Carmarthen.




fob cleaned by velocipede228822, on Flickr

The same fob cleaned in an Untrasonic cleaner.


----------



## Shangas (Jan 27, 2008)

See? I told you it works. You fill it up, dunk it in, run it, then take it out.

You MAY need to give the ultrasonic cleaner a bit of a hand in that you'll have to rub some of the grime off. What the ultrasonic cleaner doesn't remove entirely, it certainly loosens up enough to make it easier to clean.

I think that's been done very nicely, AlanJohn. You seem to have made a fine purchase!


----------



## a6cjn (Oct 29, 2009)

Looks like you've sorted that Alan. As Shangas said, you can help the process along a bit by using hot water in the cleaner and scrubbing the piece with a toothbrush (and toothpaste).

The final shine is usually achieved by buffing on a polishing mop but they are deceptively difficult and dangerous to use.

For small flat pieces like your fobs and chains you could trying gluing a strip of felt onto a board and load it with some jeweller's rouge (ebay) and rub your fob (now that sounds rude) and chain back and forth on the felt.

Chris


----------



## Shangas (Jan 27, 2008)

Hot or lukewarm water works well. Also liquid ammonia, for cleaning really fiddly stuff. I clean fountain pen feeds and nibs and other small, fiddly pieces of stuff in my ultrasonic, and hot water and soap and ammonia (not all at once) can do wonders in clearing out trapped gunk.


----------



## stevieb (Feb 12, 2010)

A good process for cleaning and removing the tarnish on silver, is to use Bicarbonate of soda.

You need a couple of jam jars , Bicarbonate of soda, aluminium foil and hot water.[i should add a pair of safety spec's and a pair of gloves]

The volumes depends on what your cleaning but I add a 2/3rds tea spoon of Bicarbonate per cup of water.

Mix the water with the bicarbonate of soda then add a strip of aluminium foil.

This makes a dip soloution where the tarnished particles are attracted to the Aluminium.

It works well [as well as the dips you can buy]

You may be able to get better instructions on the web.

steve


----------



## AlanJohn (Mar 17, 2011)

Shangas said:


> See? I told you it works. You fill it up, dunk it in, run it, then take it out.
> 
> You MAY need to give the ultrasonic cleaner a bit of a hand in that you'll have to rub some of the grime off. What the ultrasonic cleaner doesn't remove entirely, it certainly loosens up enough to make it easier to clean.
> 
> I think that's been done very nicely, AlanJohn. You seem to have made a fine purchase!


I have been slow answering as because my PC has been down. You were right, it works fine.


----------



## AlanJohn (Mar 17, 2011)

stevieb said:


> A good process for cleaning and removing the tarnish on silver, is to use Bicarbonate of soda.
> 
> You need a couple of jam jars , Bicarbonate of soda, aluminium foil and hot water.[i should add a pair of safety spec's and a pair of gloves]
> 
> ...


Thanks Steve, Shangas and Chris for the advice. I have been off line for a while as my pc has been problematic.


----------



## Shangas (Jan 27, 2008)

You will be amazed at the amount of crud that comes off jewellery when you ultrasonic it. You will never think something is clean ever again, until after you put it into your cleaner.


----------



## AlanJohn (Mar 17, 2011)

Maltese cross by velocipede228822, on Flickr

Another watch fob to add to my collection. A Maltes cross style.


----------



## AlanJohn (Mar 17, 2011)

Maltese reverse by velocipede228822, on Flickr

The reverse side of the Maltese cross fob. 1857-8. Birmingham.


----------



## Roger the Dodger (Oct 5, 2009)

AlanJohn said:


> Maltese reverse by velocipede228822, on Flickr
> 
> The reverse side of the Maltese cross fob. 1857-8. Birmingham.


Very nice, Alan.....Anchor for Birmingham, lion for sterling silver, and lower case 'L' for 1910. So, a lovely silver fob, 101 years old. It's entitled to the slight wear and tear....wear it with pride, Alan.

Just noticed you have it dated to 1857 (Capital I)....having blown the pic up, I still think it's a lower case 'L'......or p'raps I need to go to Specsavers!


----------



## AlanJohn (Mar 17, 2011)

You may be right Roger, but looking at it with my loupe, I still think it's a 1857-8. It was sold as that also.We must beg to differ.


----------



## a6cjn (Oct 29, 2009)

Have to agree with Roger on this one Alan. It's a lower case 'l' putting it at 1910

If you enlarge your pic to x400, look at the serrif at the top of the letter. With that particular date letter, the serrif is slightly larger to the left. On a Birmingham 1857 letter, the serrif is symetrical. left and right and is the same at the bottom as it is at the top.

Splitting hairs really as it is a nice fob

Chris


----------



## AlanJohn (Mar 17, 2011)

a6cjn said:


> Have to agree with Roger on this one Alan. It's a lower case 'l' putting it at 1910
> 
> If you enlarge your pic to x400, look at the serrif at the top of the letter. With that particular date letter, the serrif is slightly larger to the left. On a Birmingham 1857 letter, the serrif is symetrical. left and right and is the same at the bottom as it is at the top.
> 
> ...


I bow to your greater knowledege. I'm sure you are right.


----------

