Pocket Watch

This drawing will educate you about jewel count and its relative meaning to you as it relates to accuracy and reliability of your watch. A 7 jewel movement consist of the 5 balance jewels and the pallet jewels, an eleven jewel the balance arbor and pallet jewels and so on.

Our new website has larger but fewer photos of the watches, movement, dial, case front and case back photos are available on request. In some cases a description could refer to a photo that is not included but is available and can be emailed on request.

We want you to enjoy the experience of owning the pocket watch you purchase. That starts with a worry free purchase, without the stress of gambling on an item sold at auction. We really care about our watches and do not sell any of them without some regret. Every watch we sell is a mechanical wonder that you can be proud to own, if you do not feel this way about your purchase just return it, undamaged within five days of receipt.

All of our pocket watches are serviced and checked for accuracy on our electronic timing machine and against an atomic clock for several days. Shipping and location may result in some minor adjustments being needed but you are assured of RR standard accuracy on railroad watches. Non-Railroad watches will be within industry accepted standards for mechanical watches.

Our experience with the pocket watches we purchase is that they come into our shop in the following condition. Do you really want a watch in this condition? This is what you normally get from an antique store or auction.

	100 % of the cases are very dirty and need to be deep cleaned and polished.
	Over 90% of the dials are dirty or damaged and need to be cleaned or replaced.
	Over 90% of the crystals are damaged enough that they need replacement.
	Nearly 100% of the movements are in need of servicing, even when they are in running condition. Many are so dirty that I am amazed that they can run.
	About 25% of the movements that are running but need service will need additional repairs after cleaning. The grime and dried oil was actually keeping the watch running. Things like worn short staffs will show up after cleaning
	About 40% will run less than 24 hours on a full wind and will need a mainspring replacement.
	On average about five hours of work is invested into every watch we offer for sale before it is listed on this website.

A Few of Good Tips

	To avoid mainspring breakage, especially on older pocket watches do not fully wind, instead partially wind a couple of time each day to about 60% to 75% of full. Remember these springs are very old if they have not been replaced.
	Keep a surgical glove handy for installing and removing case covers, it is not necessary to wear the glove just use it to get a good grip on the cover.
	If you cross thread a cover do not try to force it open, instead use a case knife to gently pry the case back into alignment.
	A watch that stops in the same place usually has hands touching, this is common after shipping. If a watch always stops near 6:00 the hour hand is touching the second hand. If the watch stops when the minute hand crosses the hour hand they are probably touching.

We offer pocket watches that are a good value in the various price points, irrespective if they are selling for under $100.00 or over $1000.00. We are not Gold Speculators, recently with gold prices rising and the so called experts predicting prices from $1650.00 to $2000.00 within a year it is very difficult to find a pocket watch with a solid gold case at a reasonable price. Our focus is and always has been on high grade movements and rare short run models from American watch makers. We do occasionally offer a high grade Swiss watch when we can offer you a very good value. In order to properly evaluate gold prices and how that relates to pocket watch prices you need to be informed about how the gold commodity works and how brokers issue gold certificates and what their reserve responsibilities are, once you understand this your will see how the price can go up so fast and drop even faster. Do not overvalue gold in a pocket watch

Pocket watches vary greatly in price depending on the movement and case for each watch. We want each of our pocket watches to represent a solid investment. We focus on higher quality movements and fully service the movement before we offer the watch for sale. The only exception is when we acquire a watch that has just been serviced and our inspection confirms this.

All cases are cleaned and polished and whenever there is any noticeable variation in the color of a case they are electroplated with gold, platinum or silver in order to even out the color.

We replace most crystals and clean every dial. We do not sell any pocket watch with dial defects that are readily noticeable to the naked eye. Because this is somewhat subjective we will describe all dial defects and provide photographs so you can determine for yourself the extent of dial damage. With perfect original dials becoming difficult to find prices are starting to equal a complete watch price. In some case a high quality replacement dial may be the solution for buyers wanting a perfect dial. While they are not inexpensive high quality Melamine Dials are available.

The cost of the value added service that we perform on every pocket watch would be $150.00 to $300.00 if you took the watch to your local jeweler or repair shop.

We offer a full money back guarantee* on any watch so long as you return it within five days of receipt and we receive it in the same condition as we sent it to you. * Does not include shipping cost. Pocket watches are insured up to $500.00, if you want more insurance coverage you must contact us before we ship your watch and we will invoice you for the additional insurance. All shipments are F.O.B. Ludington, Mi.. If a claim arises you must deal with the carrier but we will assist you in making your claim. Be sure to keep all of the original packaging for the carrier's inspection. We normally ship U.S.P.S. priority mail

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