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Watch Basics
If you've never held an antique watch in your hand before, then this is the place to start. Get some tips on how to identify your watch, compare an open-face watch to a hunter, learn how to wind it and set it, how to carefully open it, and what not to do.
Know Your Watch
The External Parts
These are the primary visible components of any pocket watch:
- The bow serves as a necessary attachment point.
- The crown has the dual function of winding and setting.
- The pendant houses the winding stem and sleeve.
- The case holds the movement - the guts of the watch.
- The bezel holds the glass crystal, which protects the dial.
- The numerals are displayed on the dial, not the face.
- The time indicators are the hands, not the arms.
For the internal components visit the Advanced page.
Open Face or Hunter?
Open Face
Open face is by far the most common configuration, with the winding stem at the 12:00 position and a glass crystal over the dial, and was available in every size that American watch factories had to offer.
This design eventually became one of the primary railroad criteria.
Hunter
Hunter (hunting) cases have the stem located at the 3:00 position, and they were not railroad approved. This style has a front lid to protect the dial and the glass crystal, which opens by depressing the crown.
There is no such thing as a double hunter or a half hunter.
Sidewinder
Sidewinders are hunter movements in open-face cases. Pocket watches were very seldom purchased this way when they were new, meaning that the original gold-filled case was likely melted down by a greedy scrapper. Most collectors believe this configuration to be incorrect.
We do not accept sidewinders for restoration.
Identifying It
Here are some clues to figuring out what you have:
Genuine or Knock-Off
Modern reproductions are fairly easy to spot. They are much lighter than their antique counterparts, with plain movements that may be battery powered. They contain stamped parts with sharp edges, and the flat dial is usually a plastic decal.
Brand
The brand is the name of the factory that made it and that name should be found on both the dial and on the movement itself, which is the mechanism inside the case. There are exceptions to this rule, like private labels or named grades.
Model
Simply put, a model is a mechanical design that doesn't change. The parts that make up any model were manufactured for use with that specific model and generally aren't interchangeable with others, regardless of jewel count, pattern, or plate finish.
The jewel count can change, the plate finish can change, the pattern on the winding wheels can change, but it will still be the same model.
Grade
A grade is a name, phrase or location that was assigned by the factory that had some significance or was produced in quantity for a large retailer, and was also meant as a marketing strategy. A given grade could be present in multiple models.
Jewel Count
Most companies used at least some jeweling on their watches to reduce friction, and as a general rule-of-thumb the higher the count, the better the watch and therefore the more desirable and/or valuable.
After 1890 most factories started stamping jewel counts on the plates, eliminating confusion and guesswork about possible totals.
Serial Number
Most American watches have a unique serial number, which is stamped on the movement plates, not the case. Knowing this number will allow you to use any of several online resources, some of which are accurate.
Some manufacturers made millions of watches, while others made fewer than a dozen. Serial numbers were not always made sequentially by date and they didn't always begin with serial number 1, sometimes continuing without a break if the company was bought out. Factories could also set aside blocks of numbers for future use or certain models.
Variant
A variant is a slight change in pattern, plate finish, or engravings between factory runs or even on individual watches. It could be a change from steel to gilded screws, a different pattern on the winding wheels, different jewel counts, or red to black enamel in the plate markings, but the model does not change.
Size
The size of the case is unimportant!
Digital calipers work best, but a ruler is better than nothing. The dial is slightly smaller than the pillar plate of the movement, but since it's the most accessible part measuring that is close enough.
How To Open It
Threaded Covers
Both covers unscrew like a jar lid. Hold the case in your left hand with your thumb against the pendant and rotate the cover counter-clockwise with your right hand. If they're stuck, then use rubber kitchen gloves for a better grip or putting it someplace warm to expand the metal.
Do NOT use a knife or a screwdriver to pry anything.
Hinged Covers
The front cover opens on a hinge, which may or may not be visible. These require a certain amount of prying, and there will be a thumbnail catch or a small slot for a pocketknife blade. Hinged cases are friction-fit and if yours isn't too worn the cover will snap shut and stay closed.
Do not force the cover past 90 degrees.
Snap Covers
Snap covers also fit by friction, though there is no hinge. These cases are usually the nickel salesmen's variety, but not always, and again will require a certain amount of prying with a suitable tool. Snap covers are friction-fit too, so the more they are removed the looser they will get.
Be careful not to hit the edge of the dial or the hands.
Swing Cases
These can be a genuine pain because a swing case has no rear cover, so unscrew the bezel to see if there is hinge at the top of the dial at 12:00.
If so, pop up the crown first and use the small slot at 6:00 to help you swing out the inner ring. When closing, the winding arbor must align with the pendant stem. If you feel resistance, then don't force it.
Be careful to avoid hitting the seconds hand.
Hunting Cases - Front Cover
Press the crown and the cover will open, unless the lift spring is broken. When closing, do NOT just click it shut! Press the crown first, close the lid, and then release the crown. The steel latch is much harder than the softer bronze front cover, which will wear through some day.
Do not force the cover past 90 degrees.
Hunting Cases - Rear Cover
The rear cover opens on a hinge and snaps closed. These also require a certain amount of prying using a thumbnail catch. There might be a second inner dust cover, called a cuvette, that opens the same way.
Do not force the covers past 90 degrees.
The Others
The previous sections describe how to open the majority of American cases, but there were more case manufacturers than the factories that made the watches themselves and there isn't room to show them all.
There was the Muckle reversible case, two-piece pair cases, the Blauer invisible-hinge case, cases with internal threads, the Waltham top-hat with removeable crown, cases with snap-on guards, and many others.
Know when you're in over your head and don't break anything.
How To Wind It
With A Key
By The Crown
By The Crown
This was the only way of winding a watch prior to 1880. A square key of a specific size mates with the arbor of the mainspring, making a clicking noise as the mainspring coils up. Key-wind watches are wound in a clock-wise direction only; there is no ratcheting mechanism. This kind of case usually has two back covers and opening the outer one reveals the inner one, called the cuvette, which has a round stamped hole directly over the mainspring arbor.
By The Crown
By The Crown
By The Crown
This was the most common method of winding after 1880 or so. The crown gets twisted back and forth, producing a ratcheting sound in both directions as mainspring tension builds. If you feel no resistance then the mainspring is likely broken or unhooked.
There is no such thing as an "over-wound" watch, and you will feel it when the far end of the mainspring is reached.
How To Set It
Key Set - Front
Setting the time on a front-access key-wind watch takes steady hands.
The bezel must be opened for access to the dial to fit the key over the square center arbor. Carefully rotate the key in a clockwise direction, being very careful to not slip and damage the dial, and to leave the hands parallel to each other without crossing or touching the dial.
Key Set - Rear
There are several American and Swiss models with a square arbor for setting the hands through the back of the watch, which negated having to open the bezel to set the time while also protecting the dial.
Rotate the key in a clockwise direction only. The key will fit both the hand and mainspring arbors, since they are usually the same size.
Pendant Set
This is the easiest and most common method. The crown snaps up into setting mode when pulled, then clicks back down into winding mode. There is some resistance, and care must be taken not to pull too hard.
Using the crown, set the hands in a clockwise direction only.
Lever Set
This was a railroad criteria so the time couldn't accidentally be changed. Open the front cover and pull out the lever, which could be located in one of several positions around the dial depending on the model, and then use the crown to set the hands in a clockwise direction only.
Retract the lever fully before replacing the front cover.
What Not To Do
Drop It
Pocket watches are loaded with delicate steel and glass parts. If you've never handled one before and are opening it, winding it, or setting the hands for the first time make sure to do it over something soft. And if you carry one, make sure to tether it.
Magnetize It
Several components of the gear train of a watch are made from steel, which can be easily magnetized, ruining the accuracy. Take care to avoid placing your watch near any fixed magnets, and be aware that watches can become magnetized in shipping.
Let It Rust
Avoid damp storage locations like a basement safe or musty safe-deposit boxes, since many watch components are made out of steel, which can easily rust. If those are your only choices then use desiccate packets to absorb moisture, either the disposables or ones that can be heated and reused.
Make Things Worse
The joy of tinkering is a common one, and the watch is yours to do as you please, but know when you're in over your head. Don't do further damage to what could be a rare, valuable or exceptional piece by opening up the back and spraying it with oil, sticking anything into the gear train, or by taking it apart.
Ready For More?
What Jewels Are For
Watches utilized semi-precious stones as bearings to reduce friction. Learn what jewels were made from, what they were for, where they were used, how they were mounted, and how to determine jewel count just by looking at the watch.
All About Dials
No single part on a pocket watch was as visible as the dial, and they came in an incredible array of colors, designs and fonts. See all of the variants, learn what they were made from and how they were mounted, and don't miss the section on hands.
Slightly More Advanced
Learn what makes a watch tick, from mainsprings and plate finishes to balance wheels and hairsprings. There are sections on the different types of escapements, gear train ratios, verge fusees, railroad standards, and find out what Adjusted means.
Restoration Highlights
One of Illinois's rarest watches was the 23-jewel Washington Lafayette. Only 190 were ever made.