A Matter Of Time - Collecting Antique Pocket Watches

From cathedral clocks to the first pocket watch

Timekeeping devices are thousands of years old. The Egyptians used the sundial by 1300 B.C. But mechanical clocks were so large and heavy for so long that a portable one seemed absurd. Most lived in churches and cathedrals, driven by weights of stone or metal. Henry De Vick’s clock for the royal palace in Paris had a 500-pound weight that traveled 32 feet, and like every clock of its time it had only an hour hand.

A clock you could carry was worth the effort. Astronomy and physics needed it, and ship captains needed it to calculate their position, which made the safe return of ship, cargo and crew more likely. Mobile clocks finally appeared in the 1500s, and the German locksmith Peter Henlein is one of the first recorded makers of a watch.

The first watches were steel, so the first watchmakers were locksmiths and blacksmiths, whose guilds already worked steel into tools. As brass, silver and gold replaced steel and the work grew smaller and finer, locksmiths took over the trade. Watches of that period were typically four or five inches wide and about three inches thick.

Springs, jewels and the minute hand

Spring technology, developed by Henlein and others, made the personal timepiece possible. A spiral spring could be wound and allowed to uncoil to drive the hour hand. It was far better than hanging weights but still inaccurate, because a coiled spring does not unwind at a constant speed.

Since the spring ran more evenly when not wound tight, makers added devices such as the stackfreed, a cam with an extra spring that compensated for the mainspring’s changing force, and the fusee. In 1675 several watchmakers found that a spiral spring attached to the balance greatly improved accuracy. Watches were suddenly right within minutes, and the minute hand was added. A fourth wheel in the movement cut winding from twice a day to once, and a seconds hand came a little less than a century later. Buyers later wanted calendars, moon phases, alarms, chimes and music.

Early watches had no cover over the dial. In the 1700s English makers began making gold and silver pair cases to hold the watch. The maker’s name or mark usually appears on the pair case, and if it does not match the name on the watch, the case is a replacement. English watchmakers also began using jewels (gemstones) as bearings in the 1700s to reduce friction and wear, and makers elsewhere took nearly a century to follow. The jewel count is still a sign of quality and durability.

Collecting Waltham pocket watches and other early American makers

A watch made before 1700 is rare, and most surviving examples are in large collections. Watches made before 1865 are popular with collectors and with Civil War buffs and re-enactors, according to Eric Engh, co-owner of oldwatch.com, then the world’s largest online seller of pocket watches.

“Walthams, in particular, are very collectible,” Engh said. “They were the first mass produced watches with interchangeable parts. But because of the evolution of their watch designs in the early years, they sometimes made very few of some models. This is why they are in high demand.” In 2001 he sold an 18-carat gold, size 20 Waltham Model Appleton Tracy, wound with a key from the rear, for $10,000. “Less than 350 of this model are known to exist,” he said.

Engh also saw the internet changing demand: in the 18 months before late 2001, more American watches went to European and Asian buyers who had long overlooked them.

How to date an antique pocket watch

Dating a watch starts with a good reference guide and the manufacturer’s serial number. On an American watch the serial number is on the movement inside, not on the dial or the case. Older English watches carry hallmarks that can be traced to a date. Watches made on the European continent are harder, since they often have no serial number, although patent numbers can help.

The name on the dial is not always the maker. Manufacturers often printed a retailer’s name on the face in return for an order of a set number of watches, and mail order and distribution companies did the same. Two references recommended at the time were American Watches: Beginning to End, ID and Price Guide by Meggers and Ehrhardt and the Complete Price Guide to Watches by Cooksey Shugart and others, then in its 20th edition.

Value, as with any collectible, is what a buyer will pay, but collector Michael Roesch named the points that move it. Gold, silver or plate beats brass. No parts should be missing, and the original box, bill of sale or other papers add value. Condition matters, from dents and brassing (worn-through gold plate) to dial stains, and every function should work, with cleaning and oiling every two to three years. Quality shows in the jewel count (the most prized watches have 21 or more), the number of positions adjusted to (usually five, often marked on the movement) and temperature adjustment. Engravings lower value unless they tie the watch to a famous owner or event, and such claims need papers to back them. The same skepticism helps with reproduction porcelain.

The Studebaker watch from South Bend

Pocket watches split into many specialties. Some Notre Dame fans and Studebaker car fans collect the Studebaker watch, made in South Bend, Indiana, by the same company that built the cars; the company later became known as South Bend. In 2001 Engh said he could not keep one on his website for more than 48 hours. Studebakers generally sold for $1,200 to $1,500, with only about 3,000 in existence.

Engh warned novices about the difference between The Studebaker and a Studebaker. South Bend printed Studebaker on the dials of many watches. The genuine article has the words “The Studebaker” on the movement, so the case has to be opened to be sure. If the movement says Studebaker or South Bend, it is a good watch but a lesser one, typically around $495 in 2001. Those three letters added $700 to $1,000 to the price.

Railroad pocket watches and the Kipton wreck

On April 19, 1891, a train engineer’s watch stopped for four minutes and then started again. The failure led to a wreck at Kipton, Ohio, with nine casualties. On single tracks used in both directions, timing was life and death. A commission set new standards for watches on all railroads.

A railroad watch needed at least 15 jewels (the number rose steadily afterward), accuracy within 30 seconds a week, a white dial (silvered dials were allowed until the 1910s), bold black Arabic numerals with every minute marked, a size 16 or 18 movement, adjustment to five positions and temperature compensation. The last two mattered most, because heat, cold and the watch’s position all change its rate, and trains jarred and swayed constantly. Engineers had their watches inspected regularly and gave supervisors a certificate of reliability. Canadian railroad watches used Roman numerals with an inner ring of 13 to 24. Watch size, listed from 0 to 23, measures the movement, not the case: size 16 is 1 7/10 inches and size 18 is 1 23/30 inches.

Collectors prize railroad watches despite their plain faces. Their quality was second only to chronometers, and fewer were made than ordinary watches. In 2001 a typical example in fine condition sold for $300 to $600, with prices climbing over the previous two to three years on Asian and European demand. Waltham and Elgin made the most. “You’ll need deep pockets for an extensive Waltham or Elgin collection,” Engh said. Hamilton made fewer than 5 million watches of all kinds, under 10 percent of Waltham and Elgin’s output. A complete set of Hamilton and Illinois railroad grades would total fewer than 100 watches. Actor Dom DeLuise collected both antique and railroad watches because, he said, “They take up very little room, and they are beautiful.” For more on buying online, see what sells on eBay.