The Pocket Watch Gallery

A place to show and discuss your vintage watches
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watchaholic
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Re: The Pocket Watch Gallery

Post by watchaholic »

Thanks for the feedback. I have been tempted MANY times to buy one of the black dial GCT (Greenwich Civil Time) models, they come up on Ebay fairly regularly. I stumbled onto this one in a local coin shop, and just couldn't walk away. There were a lot made and they are not particularly rare, but still a very impressive/important piece of working history that I can hold in my hand. Think I just talked myself into the purchase. :lol: . On with the hunt.

P.S. A site I use regularly as a reference is www.hamiltonchronicles.com.
He has a very impressive collection, and does nearly all his own repairs.
Time and money? I’ve spent most of mine on booze and women. The rest I just wasted…
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trsullivan
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Re: The Pocket Watch Gallery

Post by trsullivan »

I think your man is the same fella that did the 4992B in the article I referred to. "HandyDan" is his moniker. Very impressive skill set for Hamiltons.

Good luck with the hunt!
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Laird
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Re: The Pocket Watch Gallery

Post by Laird »

Vortic seem to be selling these at a hefty Premium !

https://vorticwatches.com/pages/military-edition-info

watchaholic wrote: Thu Nov 14, 2019 7:43 pm Thanks for the feedback. I have been tempted MANY times to buy one of the black dial GCT (Greenwich Cival Time) models, they come up on Ebay fairly regularly. I stumbled onto this one in a local coin shop, and just couldn't walk away. There were a lot made and they are not particularly rare, but still a very impressive/important piece of working history that I can hold in my hand. Think I just talked myself into the purchase. :lol: . On with the hunt.

P.S. A site I use regularly as a reference is www.hamiltonchronicles.com.
He has a very impressive collection, and does nearly all his own repairs.
|C70s|C7 BB, IRR, BRG, RC, Hornet, Valjoux|C3 GT|C4 Phoenix|C40 SpeedHawk|C5 BoB, Aviator|C8 Pilots*3, UTC & AD|C60 316L Y, O, B, GMT, DD Valjoux|C65 316LE,Classic LE, DT LE, 2VEV|C1 WT|C9 Pulse, JH2, AMGT, SSH21|C11 HRDC & Makaira|
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Laird
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Re: The Pocket Watch Gallery

Post by Laird »

Timewarp .....
WP_20200904_13_26_30_Pro.jpg
|C70s|C7 BB, IRR, BRG, RC, Hornet, Valjoux|C3 GT|C4 Phoenix|C40 SpeedHawk|C5 BoB, Aviator|C8 Pilots*3, UTC & AD|C60 316L Y, O, B, GMT, DD Valjoux|C65 316LE,Classic LE, DT LE, 2VEV|C1 WT|C9 Pulse, JH2, AMGT, SSH21|C11 HRDC & Makaira|
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Re: The Pocket Watch Gallery

Post by H0rati0 »

My go to dress watch for serious occasions: The Field by JW Benson. This is an 1894 model especially for the "Sporting Country Gentlemen", claimed as the first watch with "shock absorbtion" whatever that means! Runs within a few seconds day with plenty of power reserve (easily more than 24 hours though I have never measured it out) fashions may change but they knew how to make reliable watches back then.

Whilst I do not have a birth year watch, I settle for the birth year sovereign on my watch chain.
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time_lizard
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Re: The Pocket Watch Gallery

Post by time_lizard »

H0rati0 wrote: Mon Sep 14, 2020 9:22 am claimed as the first watch with "shock absorbtion" whatever that means!
I guess what it means. Have acquired this beauty of a Longines Chronograph recently for quite a few Euros.
Everytime I wear it on the chain in my trouser pocket, it stops - forever. The balance wheel gets thrown out of its bearing repetedly by the "shock" of residing in my pants. Was already twice at the watchmaker to get it relocated - but that's an expensive business. I have no idea what to do, but to watch it sitting motionless in the collection showcase :-((

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Longines Pocket Chronograph
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Longines Pocket Chronograph
Last edited by Bahnstormer_vRS on Sun Nov 22, 2020 6:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Attached photos 'Placed in Line' - https://www.christopherwardforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=55242
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Re: The Pocket Watch Gallery

Post by JAFO »

Some musings. Apparently incabloc was developed in 1934, but the explanation of inabloc reads as if it's there as a protection against a physical shock, such as dropping on the floor, and not just for ordinary wear.

Even a carriage clock can cope with swinging around (eg in a carriage), although I doubt you would deliberately turn it upside down with impunity. Maybe you can.

So maybe there is something amiss with your pocket watch, or maybe the workings of a pocket watch are such they need to be kept flat, or roughly vertical (ie, in the breast pocket of a waistcoat), in the style of a clock, and not turned upside down. Maybe the watch is turning upside down in your trouser pocket.

You wouldn't have expected a watch to have to be repaired regularly, would you.

I just searched for "watch stops upside down", and found a few suggestions for parts defects which might cause it, on a site called thewatchforum.co.uk
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H0rati0
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Re: The Pocket Watch Gallery

Post by H0rati0 »

time_lizard wrote: Thu Oct 22, 2020 2:52 pm
H0rati0 wrote: Mon Sep 14, 2020 9:22 am claimed as the first watch with "shock absorbtion" whatever that means!
I guess what it means. Have acquired this beauty of a Longines Chronograph recently for quite a few Euros.
Everytime I wear it on the chain in my trouser pocket, it stops - forever. The balance wheel gets thrown out of its bearing repetedly by the "shock" of residing in my pants. Was already twice at the watchmaker to get it relocated - but that's an expensive business. I have no idea what to do, but to watch it sitting motionless in the collection showcase :-((
That is a shame indeed. I would hazard a guess that at some point in your Longine's past it has been repaired with an incorrect mounting jewel or balance staff - it is usually difficult/impossible for a watchmaker to find a correct part for an old watch so maybe somebody compromised rather than shelling out what can be serious money. In my experience pocket watches are pretty robust (within limits of course) but there is no problem to wear them in any orientation and they will take a good degree of punishment, though one prefers to avoid! The main issue compared with a modern watch is water/dust resistance - ie none. But early wristwatches were just the same and suffered worse than pocket watches, being more exposed.

In the case of my Benson I read somewhere (but cannot find it again) that there is some kind of spring loaded carrier around the movement to reduce shock transmission such as occurs when falling off a horse, but I have not attempted to test :crazy:
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Re: The Pocket Watch Gallery

Post by JAFO »

I think the "mounting jewel" and "balance staff" referred to in the last post were referenced in the post I mentioned. I expect @H0rati0 has the right idea, although it doesn't really help solve your problem. Good to know there isn't normally an issue with handling old timepieces in general.
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Re: The Pocket Watch Gallery

Post by time_lizard »

Thanks both H0rati0 and JAFO.
Yes, my watchmaker tried to sketch some spring-device on paper for me that is around the balance wheel to protect it from shock.
However, I cannot make it out in the movement as I opened it up yesterday. And obviously it is not working as it should.

I fear H0rati0 is right and I will have to bite the bullet to spend the money for a full repair. The watch is already more than 100 years old, but still running pretty accurate (when running).
I also absoluteley love the pretty enamel dial, and the complicated bent levers that operate the stopwatch gears, driven by the tiny ratchet-cam-wheel at 4 o'clock in the picture. It even has a jumping minute-counter for the stopwatch (the ratchet wheel at 1 o'clock in the picture).
I want to have it ticking again!

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Longines Pocket watch movement
Last edited by Amor Vincit Omnia on Fri Oct 23, 2020 12:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The Pocket Watch Gallery

Post by webwatchmaker »

I found this beautiful jump seconds English Lever at an antique shop in Beer Devon. Well, my girlfriend noticed it first and her remarking on the fleur de lys hands, I examined it.
I thought it odd for it to have two mainsprings.
Bought it for £95.00 and cleaned it. Sometimes called a doctor's watch. The centre seconds hand pulses forward every second rather like a Quartz watch. Dated 1890s.
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watchaholic
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Re: The Pocket Watch Gallery

Post by watchaholic »

^^^^Beautiful piece. Great to have see you have returned to the forum
:D Always good to have real knowledge and experience at hand.
Time and money? I’ve spent most of mine on booze and women. The rest I just wasted…
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Re: The Pocket Watch Gallery

Post by watchaholic »

Some times it’s the simple things. A teacup holder screwed into the bottom of a shelf in my home office!
:thumbup:
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Set about 15 seconds fast, we’ll see how it does over the next few days.
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Re: The Pocket Watch Gallery

Post by Wolfman53 »

Found this lovely little pocket watch in Mum's bungalow, which we are currently slowly clearing out.
It looks quite old and is not working. I bought a set of winding keys but cant get it to start. Presumably, it's been a very long time since it was used.
I may get it looked at and hopefully repaired next time I am in the jewellery quarter.
I have also been scrutinising some very old photos of Mum's grandparents to see if I can spot the pocket watch on one of them. No luck so far! I would love to discover the story behind this piece.
Mum has dementia unfortunately, so has no memory of it.
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Re: The Pocket Watch Gallery

Post by watchaholic »

:lol: And so it has finally happened. I have been looking at these for years, and recently came across this reasonably priced, near perfect example. Complete with inner and outer boxes, and even the instruction sheet for opening the outer case. The movement seems rather stiff when compared to my other Hamilton’s, but may just be the NOS condition. At any rate, I will take it to my watch maker to have it inspected just as a safety precaution.
Carried by bomber crews during WWII, they were used as the principal navigational timekeeper. My Father flew out of California during the war. I’m thankfull he had one of these on board to get him home safely.
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4992B
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