Posted 10 years ago
Kydur
(103 items)
This Omega pocket watch was given to me by a fellow I bought a travel trunk from. It's in rough shape with a chipped and cracked enamel (or porcelain?) dial, a yellowed crystal, and the large gear inside has a five teeth missing; the "ratchet" (don't know the proper term) on that gear has also appeared to have lost its return spring.
I thought it was a lost cause and was just going to use it as an ornament when the other day I decided to have another look - on the chance I might be able to fix it with the bag loads of pocket watch parts I acquired at a yard sale earlier in the summer.
I discovered that I was able to wind it if I held the large gear from slipping back (basically manually doing what the ratchet was supposed to do), and then when fully wound I used a small pair of tweezers to lock the ratchet into place. It has kept perfect time for the past couple of days which is very surprising given the amount of abuse it appears to have taken!
It's a fairly large and heavy watch and the 17 jewels leads me to believe that it might be worth restoring? It has quite a few jeweller's marks on the inside of the back case cover indicating it's been into the shop for repairs or servicing in the past.
I think the serial numbers showed up clear in the photos, but here they are again for anyone interested: case #4619901; movement #5610665.
I've been able to find plenty of references online for similar Omega watches dating to the early 1900s but the one thing that's eluded me is matching the exact style of the top winder and rectangular strap/chain piece. Is it a rare case design?
