Pocket Watch

This special ball is used to remove and replace pocket watch covers, I have found it to be indispensable. Helps to prevent cross-threading and easily removes smooth backs and bezels that otherwise slip through your fingers.

Under $10.00 including shipping.

This is a typical case knife, it is an essential tool for removing snap back cases or troublesome cross threaded screw on covers.

$6.95

Crystal replacement starts at $25.00 for new old stock glass crystals, new glass crystals and acrylic crystals are $35.00. We use N.O.S. whenever possible but they are becoming very hard to find especially for size 16 pocket watches. Note! crystal was not cleaned before photographing, and is dusty..

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.

Additional photos of watches, movements, dials and case covers are available 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.

Terms of Sale

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

We are a verified PayPal® merchant, PayPal® is the E-bay owned payment system that allows you to use almost any method of payment, including all credit card and bank transfer without having to divulge any of you private information to us. It is the most secure method of internet payment available.

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.

About 25% of our work comes from watches purchased at auction that are not as advertised. I see so much of this I decided to purchase a watch advertise as being in good condition from a major auction site and see what I actually get. The following is an exact copy of their display ad.

JUST CLEANED AND OILED. ALL THESE WATCHES ARE TORN DOWN ALL PARTS INSPECTED CLEANED RE ASSEMBLED AND OILED. STRONG RUNNER GOOD TIME KEEPER. SERIAL NUMBER U620852 DATES IT TO 1946. 21 JEWEL ADJUSTED TO 8 POSITIONS. GRADE 571 FIRST OF RUN NUMBER 2852 OF MODEL 20 IN 16 SIZE. 5000 MADE IN THIS RUN, ORIGINAL ELGIN MONTGOMERY DIAL. LIGHT HAIRLINE FROM THE CENTER HOLE TO THE 1. MINT ORIGINAL RAILROAD HANDS. STEM WIND LEVER SET. HOUSED IN A KEYSTONE STYLE 40 SCREW BACK AND BEZEL 10K GOLD FILLED CASE. LIDS SCREW UP TIGHT COUPLE OF SMALL DINGS ON THE BACK. MINT CROWN MINT GLASS CRYSTAL, NICE RAILROAD WATCH.

This is what I actually found:

	The watch did not run when I received it, the roller jewel was missing.
	The wrong crown had been installed so it rubbed against the neck of the case.
	The bow pins were loose, and actually fell out causing the bow to come loose from the case.
	The dial had, in addition to the hairline described, a significant spider crack between 1 and 2.
	The crystal was not bad but had a couple of small scratches and a small chip.
	The regulator whip was broken off.
	The movement was dirty and obviously had not been cleaned.
	The mainspring winding wheel was corroded.

The following is what had to be done to this watch before we would consider offering it for sale.

The dial was replaced.
The crystal was replaced.
A new roller jewel was installed.
The mainspring winding wheel was replaced.
The movement was serviced.
The crown, neck, and bow repairs were made.
A new regulator whip was installed.
The case was cleaned and polished

The cost of the repairs necessary for a watch advertised as being "just cleaned and oiled and running strong" would be well over $200.00

The seller had 100% positive from a lot of sales, I did not complain about this purchase because my intent was to experiment, but if buyers are willing to give a positive rating for this kind of merchandise then they must not expect much.

Perhaps this was an anomaly but it is what I found.

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 Good Tips Click Here

	Use the link above to get the recommendations we send to all our customers
	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 are a verified PayPal® merchant, PayPal® is the E-bay owned payment system that allows you to use almost any method of payment, including all credit card and bank transfer without having to divulge any of you private information to us. It is the most secure method of internet payment available.

Northern Partners

If you are considering a purchase please read this entire page carefully.

Crystal replacement starts at $25.00 for new old stock glass crystals, new glass crystals and acrylic crystals are $35.00. We use N.O.S. whenever possible but they are becoming very hard to find especially for size 16 pocket watches. Note! crystal was not cleaned before photographing, and is dusty..