Dave Bush
  34 Blossom St.
 Portsmouth NH 03801
 USA
   (603) 436-9721
Email me at Dave@NHwatchsite.com
 
Member since 1981 of National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors #73286

 
Clean Running Antique Pocket Watches
The watches in this section are clean and running, have been carefully inspected, and come with a one year guarantee



How I inspect these watches
 
     Since I am offering watches that are in good condition in this section - suitable for gift giving, or anyone who wants a nice clean watch, I start by making sure the watch looks presentable – that it is clean, attractive and without flaws that require an apology.  The condition of most all of these watches is in the top 10 percent of the examples available out there today.
     First I look for any flaws that stand out as I look the watch over from one end to the other - that the case opens and closes properly, and is in good condition.  The dial should be clean and presentable.  The movement should look clean and run robustly.  A person with good eyesight should be able to examine the watch carefully and find nothing more than slight signs of use.  If you use magnification you will probably determine that the watch is not brand new, but there are no serious flaws.
     I wind the watch up and set the time, making sure that the winding and setting work properly and smoothly.  I set it down with the dial facing up and leave it overnight.  I check it the next day, if it has kept good time I wind it up again and flip it over so that the dial faces down.  The following day I check it again, and if the time is within 2 minutes of my modern quartz watch I give it a passing grade.  Most all of them are closer than that.  Most all have been serviced - the written description will say if they have been.
     All these watches are in good enough condition that I am comfortable offering a one year guarantee on each of them.
 
 

About Timekeeping

      All of these old watches are in good condition and in good running condition.  Most all of them I have had serviced.  Some that came to me in very good running condition I did not have cleaned, because I judged that they didn't need it.  Please keep in mind that these are antique precision mechanical timepieces requiring regular servicing – a cleaning and an oil change.  Generally the first sign that a cleaning is needed is that the timekeeping is no longer accurate, so my practice is to examine each piece closely - if they are very clean and keep good time, I assume that they have been recently serviced and I don't have them cleaned.  This helps keep prices down.  I have found over the years that this is what most of my customers prefer, rather than having every piece routinely serviced whether it needs it or not and then raising the prices to pay for it.
     At some point any old watch will need its routine cleaning.  When it needs to be done depends on how much it is used and how long it has been since the last service.  Generally the time between servicing is measured in years.  Any watch listed here appears to me to be over a year away from the time a routine servicing will be needed, in fact most have just been cleaned and oiled.

 
 
Common terms used in watch descriptions

Movement - the timekeeping mechanism of the watch, which is placed into the watch case for protection.  Most American movements were made in one of five standard sizes, 18, 16, and 12 were generally used in men's watches, and 6 and 0 sizes were used in ladies watches.  It is possible to have two cases that look like they are the same size, and find that the movements inside them are different sizes.  Generally, as time has passed, pocket watches have gotten smaller.
Sizes - I will list the movement size and the case size, the case size will be the outer diameter of the main round part of the watch.  As watches have gotten smaller over the years, some early pieces that were thought of as ladies sizes when new, now could be considered small men's, and some ladies will think that they are too large for a woman to wear.
Open face watch - with this watch you can see the face, or dial without opening it up
Hunting case watch - these watches have a metal cover over the dial and crystal to protect it, so that the front of the watch often looks just like the back.  To open it up to check the time, press the winding crown down, and the cover will spring up.  When closing, it is very important that you also again press down the winding crown, then push shut the cover and release the crown - it is possible to 'snap' shut the cover, but this will wear away the catch that holds it closed, and it will then no longer stay shut.
Lever setting - this is a method of setting the hands, there is a little lever at the edge of the dial that is pulled out away from the dial, then when the winding crown is turned the hands can be adjusted.  Slide it back in and then the watch can be wound up.
Pendant setting - the most common way of adjusting the hands, pull the winding crown out, and rotate it and the hands can be set, push it back down when finished Keywind/ key set - the watch is wound and set using a key
Crystal - the glass that covers the dial or face of the watch, sometimes these are plastic, but most of the watches here will have the old glass
Bow - the round hoop over the winding crown used to hang the watch on a chain


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Keywind Watches

     The earliest watches used a key for winding and for setting the hands - many years later mechanical systems were invented to eliminate the need for the key.  Most keywind watches are older than most stemwind watches, and as a rule they show more signs of use and age than the newer stem winders.  In the era when keywind watches were made watches were valuable and prized possessions, and often have seen a lot of use - I think that many years ago it was unusual to buy something and then hardly use it as people commonly do today.  As a result I find the overall condition of keywind watches today is not generally as good as the condition of newer stemwind watches, and also the stemwind watches are typically much more mechanically advanced than the old keywinds.  This means when you are looking at keywind watches you generally must allow for a little lower standard of condition in your evaluations - these pieces will have more signs of use and will act more like antiques in their timekeeping and general running condition - think of automobiles Circa 1920 compared to automobiles Circa 1960.

   Please notice also that most all American made keywinds will need the key set on the little square post in the center of the hands to move the hands and change the time.  This will require the front be opened on an open faced watch, and on a hunters cased watch the bezel holding the crystal will need to be snapped open and closed.  This opening of the watch will generally require the use of a small opener or knife and care must be taken to avoid damaging the watch.

    

   



WI867 - Illinois early #7769 keywind with coin silver hunting case  $395   Photos



WL201 - Lancaster keywind with coin silver hunting case  $375   Photos
 
 


WN278 - New York Watch Company  keywind with coin silver hunting case  $395   Photos




WR848 - Rockford three quarter plate keywind with coin silver hunting case  $475   Photos



WW294 - Waltham 18 size Broadway keywind with nickel case  $195  Photos

 
  

 
 
 



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     The watches are in these categories to make your search easier  

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