Posted 10 years ago
otiamaria
(35 items)
Hi All! I found this pocket watch when I stopped at a thrift store tonight. I bought it immediately, not caring if it worked or not. This is the biggest pocket watch in my collection, no doubt. And much more weighty than I'm used to, as well.
The front of the watch reads: "American Waltham Watch Co."
I know there's a lot of info out there on this company, but since I don't know where to start looking, I thought I would defer to the experts here on CW. :) Anything you could tell me about this particular watch, or if you could direct me to a particular web page about it: MUCH appreciated!
I haven't opened the watch up. I'm not sure how. In pic 3, there is a groove just under the stem and above the crystal. Do I just gently pry it open there?
The fob thingie....(I'm sorry, Idon't know which part is the fob, is it the chain itself or the ornament that's in pic 4?) Anyway, I'm curious to know what kind of symbol that is on the ornament. Not sure what the chain is made of. It does have a marking, but I can't read it and attempts to photograph it were big fails, lol. Looks like 1/ (and I can't make it out. 1/10 or 1.40?)
Thanks for looking at my latest acquisition! :)
PS -----> It WORKS! Hehe! WOOT!
About the crest, looked familiar!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_of_Pythias
Congrats, a great find! Appearently the letters mean, "Friendship, Charity, Benevolence" , the Pythian motto.
Judging from similar Waltham models, it could very well be from the 1880's! See if you can't get it open and look for a serial number.
Unscrew the back and lets have a look at the movement. That's where you'll find the serial number. With that we can date it. I'm guessing that it's an 18 size model 1883... I have a seconds hand for it if it is... lol...
looks like a swing out case,..have one similar to it,..front unscrews,..see scalloping aroudn the crystal? its to get a better grip,.. unscrew face set it aside,..pop the stem out as if you were resettign the time,..and you SHOULD be able to see where to use your thumbnail to hook in the bottom of the movement and gently swing it up,..to see the back,..CAREFUL sometimes the old movement can be looose and you DONT ant it to fall out of the case,..REALLY damn annoying when that happens bet the back is REALY pretty those old Walthams are nice inside,..dont forget to pop the stem out before trying to swing it out or it wont come out n you might mess up the stem,..dont have to remove it just have to pull it like your setting the time
oh and AWESOME find,..my holy grail is to find something like that at the thrift shop,..LUCKY!!
dont loose the second hand ,.i see it ratlign round in there,..should be fairly easy to put back on
Fantastic find!!!
otiamaria, take a look at this site, you may find it useful.
http://www.pocketwatchrepair.com/how-to/open-pocketwatch-cases.php
You guys are right. Swing out case... And I now see that seconds hand...lol.. These old eyes ain't what they used to be...
Thank you for sharing your knowledge with me :)
OlofZ, good call on the ornament! It sure enough is the Knights of the Pythians! Been reading about them half the day, lol! I managed to find one on eBay. If I can believe the sellers claims, this is circa 1900-1920 - Victorian/Art Deco era, and rare. 14K gold-filled RGP (what does RGP mean?) and cloisonne enamel. Designer/Brand unnknown, and no hallmarks. The seller titled this listing: "Fabulous Ornate Old Knights of Pythias Fraternal Organization Membership Medallion Fob Pendant Charm."
Gotta admit, shawnicus, I was scared to death to open this case, lest I screw something up, lol! I sat here with my tools and and the watch and when I mustered up enough courage, I held my breath (literally! I think I really did hold my breath, lol) and started in.
Sure enough, it's a swing out just like you said.
The inside of the watch is beautiful. It has the neatest scrollwork designs on it! In ornate script, it says, "American Waltham Watch Co.". It has the S/F control thingie (slow/fast?) There's a part that says "Safety Pinion".
Toolate2, I think I found the serial number: 13126520. It also says 17 Jewels.
The watch case had stuff to look at, too! It has things engraved like, (top to bottom):
"Starw.c.co"
(a star symbol)
Elgin, IL
925 (stamped in a diamond shape)
591423
4
But there was more then that. There was other stuff that someone had etched in themselves. I've been thinking of them as "the mystery numbers" lol.
In between the 59423 and the 4, it looks like someone hand etched "661W"
Above Starw.c.co someone etched "3279ms"
Around the perimeter of the movement, I found these numbers had-etched:
3364X
62597 (or G2597... hard to see it.)
and CP35J (in the same hand etching, but the J has more of a fancy script look to it.)
A couple of times during this adventure, the watch stopped ticking. I'm serious, I stopped everything every time it did that. Then it would kick back up again and I'd keep going. The stem/crown came right out of the watch, and scared me half to death. I did manage to place it back where I thought it should go, and the watch still sets just fine, so hopefully I'm ok?)
Thank you, pops52...the link to "Pocketwatch 101" has a home in my bookmarks now. (There's a LOT of stuff I want to read there!) I just really love pocketwatches. My dad really started something when he gave me one of his, lol, I cherish it. Something about these old timepieces.
Thanks to all for your help!
You had better watch out, Pocket watches are very addicting .I sold my collection years ago, I kept only one. It seems to have started multiplying by itself lol, A woman at a flea market warned me many years ago. She had Hundreds! She said she didn't if it was a hobby or a curse.
Thanks for the great reply! RGP means rolled gold plating. Congrats!
tooo cool gotta post a pic o the works!! they are awesome arent they ? again congratulations on a realy cool find
Just as I thought, 18 size model 1883 made in 1903... Here's the link: http://www.nawcc-info.org/walthamdb/LookupSN.asp
Super cool old watch! Congrats!!! Oh, RGP is probably rolled gold plate. A cheaper process that the "gold filled'" cases you find. Here's a link for that: http://www.ebay.com/gds/Gold-Solid-Filled-Rolled-Plated-What-do-they-mean-/10000000002819854/g.html