Posted 11 years ago
George888
(1 item)
The wodden box is 3 3/4" wide 3 3/8" deep and 2 5/8" deep with the brass anchor on top with brass lock hinge in fromt and two brass clasps on each corner. The box is lined in red velvet like material on the inside.
The watch is in a 2" glass magnafying sphere, with a 7/8" brass band around the middle. In the top of the face of the watch are the words "SUPERIOR SHIP TIMEKEEPER" just under these words written in long hand are two lines of words I can not make out even with a magnafying glass. just under the pin in the middle holding the hands of the watch is a Train Steam engine. The hour numbers are in roman numbers.
On the see thru backside of the watch the word "17 Jewels" can be seen on one of the parts and a "+ - " can be seen on another part. I do not know how to wind it up but I can move the hands around and it has a second hand.
I purchased the watch in Saudi Arabia some years back. Can someone identify this watch for me, I just bought it on a whim, I thought it looked kool and would look good sitting on my desk. Does it have any value other than a conversation peace?
See you are new to CW & welcome. Never seen one of these & hope another member can shed some light as I'm curious. I do offer a suggestion. Poste your best pic. 1st (#2 in this case) as that is what is shown on this forum. I almost missed clk'ing on it because all I saw was a common box.
We had a chap that purchased one similar for a large sum of money being told by the antique dealer it was old and rare, which is not the case. Sadly, upon finding the truth, many delete their posts, which only hurts others from making the same error.
As long as you like it, it's a good buy for ten dollars and is a nice desk piece.
T A
It has a common Chinese movement in it. These movements can be found in several (new) pocketwatches. These movements can run very good. It is not an antique watch but it's a nice looking watch.
As I mentioned in my querry, I am curious as to what it actually is. It seems too bulky to be used as a pocket watch. I did not pay much for it and it has been in storage for years. I found it while searching for something else and my grandson ask about it and I could not tell him what it really was.
I want to thank you all for your responses and I wil be patient, maybe some one out there will know what it is and in the mean time it can remain an unidentified $10.00 desk ornimate. ha Thanks again for you comments.
Is is what you make of it. It isn't anything but a novelty item. But it has a great story attached to it and is unusual to say the least and it should serve you as a great icebreaker. Enjoy!
T A
If you want to be charitable, you could call it an "homage" to the old ships chronometers, which were much larger and typically housed in a gimbled box so that they would stay horizontal on a moving ship. This one seems to have a rather small "wristwatch" class movement with a center second hand, which is somewhat anachronistic, but you can use it as a "gateway" to learning about true ship chronometers (the development of which was key to the dominance of the British watchmakers for hundreds of years, not to mention the success of the British Navy).
I can add a tidbit to your mystery. I have posted about my item today ehich is s glass Superior Ship Timekeeper exactly the same as yours but for ships. I have had mine for 10 years and have struggled to find anything about them. Purely guessing only ... from what I have researched.... if you have a glass one, you may have the real one, and if you have the hard plastic dome version, then it’s s paperweight copy (if you search on "Superior Timekeeper Specially Examined "a plastic one pops up in google. Thewordsyou cannotread spell "Specially Examind" "Swiss Made" and inthe back of the timekeeper inside it says "17 jewels Which i am assuming are either sapphires or quartz.