The Dials

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Other than the movement itself, no part on a watch had as much variety as the dial. From kiln-fired porcelain to celluloid to textured metal, they came in an astounding array of styles, fonts and colors. 

Learn the basics of dial construction and the types of materials involved, see the experimental and innovative layouts, and enjoy a section devoted to fancy dials and private labels with logos.

There's a section on Hands further down the page.

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.

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.

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 domestic evergreen trees.

Aftermarket dials are legitimate post-WW II 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.

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.

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.