Antique Pocket Watch Repair

Pressed

This was the simplest design, made from a single disc with depressions stamped in it to create the lower level for the seconds hand. These were used on lower-grade pieces.

Single-Sunk

Single-sunk dials had a separate and thinner seconds bit that was soldered to the dial. This was done so that the seconds hand sat lower, allowing the hour hand to clear it.

Double-Sunk

Double-sunk dials were assembled from three separate pieces of varying thickness, and were used on higher-grade watches. Triple-sunk dials were used on indicators.

Montgomery

Henry S. Montgomery was the Inspector of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway from 1896 to 1923, patenting a marginal minute dial after the turn of the century that he called the Safety Dial. It had several distinctive features, including marginal minute numbers that were all upright (not radial like other designs), red five minute subs that were slightly larger than the other minute markers, and a '6' in the seconds bit that was generally smaller than the other hour numbers.

24-Hour

The 24-hour dials were an import requirement for Canadian railways, which adopted this standard in the mid 1880s. The 13 to 24-hour Arabic markers were generally inside of the 12-hour ring, and the variations were extraordinary. Roman/Arabic dials were common, and these dials could also be found in Montgomery or marginal minute styles.

Wind-Indicator

Only three American companies - Elgin, Rockford and Waltham - made pocket watch wind-indicators in larger numbers. The indicator sub-dial shows how many hours have passed on an unspooling mainspring, meaning the indicator hand is starting at zero when the watch is fully wound, which might seem somewhat backward.

Note that the Rockford dial in the photo has the word "Wind" where the 24-hour marker is placed as a reminder to its owner.

Moorhouse and O'Hara

17-year-old English-born Josiah Moorhouse came to America in 1854, eventually becoming employed as a dial painter by both Waltham and E Howard while inventing his own distinctive Arabic style.

Daniel O'Hara first worked for Waltham making watch cases, pairing with Edwin Weatherbee around 1890 in what would become the O'Hara Dial Co, makers of colored and decorative watch dials.

Legitimate examples of both styles are highly prized by collectors.

Ferguson Dials

That Famous Swiss Dial

Louis Ferguson of Louisiana applied for a patent on his unique dial in November of 1907, which was granted a full year later. He produced porcelain dials for many local companies in pressed and sunk designs, with production eventually moving to Switzerland. They are highly sought after, so check the back of the dial for the appropriate stamps.

Hands were supplied with the dial, and note the intentional color match between the hands and the minute and hour numerals.

Composite Dials

Celluloid

Celluloid was more widely used in the film industry, though it was used for dials by a few watch companies. Invented in the 1860s, it was one of the very first thermoplastics, which was a polymer based on camphor, a natural form of wax harvested from evergreen trees.

Melamine

Melamine was an early laminate made with formaldehyde, arising from war-time material shortages during World War II. Dials made from melamine have a flat, dull appearance and surface cracks that will only worsen as they age and deteriorate.

Aftermarket

Aftermarket dials are modern legitimate items meant to replace damaged originals, made by Swiss firms like LaRose with plastics on metal backing plates. The tip-offs are 5-minute markings that are too cherry-red, and sinks with incorrect diameters and indistinct edges.

Metallic Dials

Metal

Metal dials were painted or milled, and some were considered railroad grade as Hi-Visibility. Scenic settings, gorgeous patterns, and the fact that they can't crack are some of the benefits.

Embossed

These are similar to metal dials, except the patterns and numerals are raised, making them a kind of Braille dial. They were more popular in Europe, and relatively few American factories produced them.

Art-Deco

As watches got thinner and the patterns became more plain, the emphasis shifted to the dial. Patterns and raised numerals became common, different fonts were tried out, and multiple colors emerged.

Military

Ordnance dials from WWII had white characters painted onto a black background for clarity. Earlier versions used radium, a radioactive isotope that glowed in the dark, on the hands and numbers.

Securing the Dial

Dial Feet

American pocket watch dials had thin wire posts soldered to the back of the dial to anchor it to the movement, using either taper pins or set screws. The larger sizes had two, three, and sometimes even four feet, and their location was not standard, varying by model and size.

A few companies mounted the dial with screws passing through the movement, threading them into pockets on the back of the dial.

Pinned Dials

Pinned dials were first held in place by brass taper pins before someone thought of using set screws to secure the feet. They were a poor design choice, with the pins forever getting lost and occasionally falling into the movement and getting wedged in the gear train. The holes in the dial feet would become enlarged, making removal and installation of the dial difficult, leading to cracks and other damage.

Snap-On Dials

Smaller-size watches generally had snap-on dials to save room on the pillar plate, although a few larger models used them too. Elgin's 16-size convertible model was one of these, and removing the dial was tricky.

The Colors

Cobalt Blue

By far the most common style, achieved by heating the punched steel hands to 450° F.

Plum

Used primarily by Illinois on Bunns, done by heating the punched steel hands to 400° F.

Black

Hamilton used black on later 992 models, made by quenching the hot steel in oil.

White

Most black dials were for military service, requiring painted white hands for contrast.

Multi-Colored

Ferguson used the dial and hands as a system, matching the colors to either one.

Gilt

Fancy hands, commonly called Louis XIV, were produced by gilding soft brass hands.

The Dials

Endless Variety

Porcelain Enamel Dials

Firing Up The Kiln