We only do one thing
You've found the home of American Timekeeper, the very best place for vintage pocket watch restoration. These timepieces were an important part of the daily lives of our ancestors and we can restore yours back to factory specs while preserving the mileage from a century of service.
We focus exclusively on pocket watches from the railroad era, and that's all we do. We don't replace batteries or straps, we don't work on clocks or wristwatches, and we don't accept modern quartz or digital pieces.
But we do it really well
What we can do is restore your heirloom back to original tolerances with every component matching and correct by using a wide range of specialized services for antique watches that you won't find elsewhere.
It takes well over a hundred close-tolerance parts working in unison for these mechanical antiques to function properly and run accurately, but when we're done with your great-grandfather's watch it can be passed on to future generations for them to enjoy and marvel at its intricacies.
Real people, real reviews
“Eric is an outstanding watchmaker in the truest sense of the word. His horological knowledge is amazing, and he is able to completely restore your watch to “original” condition. I would trust my finest watch to his knowledge and craftsmanship.” - Chuck H, Idaho
The accessories
We offer many different kinds of storage chests, glass domes and display stands for your pocket watches when you're not carrying them and want to show them off or store them safely.
People drop their watches constantly, so tether your valuable heirlooms and daily carry pieces with one of our braided leather straps or paracord lanyards to avoid high repair bills.
Isn't it time?
Imagine owning a mechanical work of art from an earlier century to tell the time, filled with tiny gears and moving parts, ticking in your pocket like a heartbeat. Many of the watches that we offer date to the 1800s and will be running long after your smartphone gets buried in a landfill.
Every vintage pocket watch featured in our Store has been completely restored back to original specs, meaning that all of its components are factory correct. Most of them are original combinations, still intact from the day that their very first owners purchased them.
Treat Them Well
Pocket watches were designed and built during the glorious age of dedicated, purpose-built tooling, meaning that they did one thing and they did it very well. 8-in-1 multi-tools sold on infomercials were thankfully still a century away.
That means that pocket watches are not wristwatches. They were designed to be carried in a vest pocket - fairly stationary while maintaining reasonable accuracy during changes in temperature, varying mainspring strengths, and gravity pulling from different directions. They were never designed to be swinging wildly at the end of your arm; there's simply too much mass on a railroad-era balance wheel to be able to quickly overcome sudden changes in inertia.
This doesn't stop people from paying up to $12,000 for a common pocket watch movement in a Vortic wristwatch conversion case the size of a tuna fish can to be banged against the corner of your desk or the edge of the door frame.
Pocket watches are also not clocks, though people will often use them as such. Clocks were designed to just sit there in a warm house on a level shelf with the weights pulling uniformly straight down, and once you got the pendulum length dialed in they would be remarkably accurate. Watches that just hang from a hook need to be timed for that one position to be the most accurate.
People also fail to tether these delicate antiques, evidently preferring to see them smash to the floor. Better yet are those who happily hand one over to a small child so the kid can drop it instead, but since children are shorter than adults they probably figure the watch can't fall as far.
These century-old mechanical works of art are capable of truly impressive accuracy if treated well, maintained properly, used in the manner intended, and honored for the history and the stories that they contain. Take care of your family heirloom so that it can be handed down through the generations.
Christmas Sale!
Railroad-approved all-original 21-jewel first-model 16-size Hamilton 992 - c. 1911