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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Railroad
Watches 
WE419 - Elgin 18 size 21
jewel grade 349 $295
Photos
WE356 - Elgin 16 size 21
jewel Father Time $350
Photos
WH782 - Hamilton 16 size model
992B, 21
jewels $475
Photos
WH218 - Hamilton 16 size model
992, 21
jewels $325
Photos
WH402 - Hamilton 16 size model
992, 21
jewels $325
Photos
WI111 - Illinois A. Lincoln 16
size 21
jewels $375
Photos
WW367 - Waltham Vanguard 18 size 23 jewels with winding
indicator $1950
Photos
WW330 - Waltham 16 size Vanguard
23 jewels with box $425
Photos
WW745 - Waltham 16 size Vanguard
23 jewels $375
Photos
WW788 - Waltham 16 size 19 jewel grade 645
$295 Photos
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The
watches are in these
categories to make your search easier 