Helvetia watches? (Braille watch)

[Andy Hamric]

I've been looking at this watch on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=985584481

This watch is a braille watch and is made by Helvetia (at least it is so marked on the dial). Seller claims it was made 1900-1910. Does that sound possible?

Also, all the braille watches I've seen have a crystal and bezel that open like a hunter case to allow reading of the watch. If you look at the bottom picture, that's what this watch seems to have, except the seller claims that the absence of a crystal is purposeful. On a second glance, maybe it is a HC, just without a bezel and crystal. Any thoughts?

[Andy Hamric]

I've been looking at this watch on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=985584481

This watch is a braille watch and is made by Helvetia (at least it is so marked on the dial). Seller claims it was made 1900-1910. Does that sound possible?

Also, all the braille watches I've seen have a crystal and bezel that open like a hunter case to allow reading of the watch. If you look at the bottom picture, that's what this watch seems to have, except the seller claims that the absence of a crystal is purposeful. On a second glance, maybe it is a HC, just without a bezel and crystal. Any thoughts?

[Jim Carroll]

I have a braille Cyma watch similar to the one in question, not in working order.
It is a hunter case with no crystal or bezel, as for date I’m not sure.
I always surmised that the Great War of 1914-18, would have created a demand for these timepieces.

Jim Carroll
NAWCC 156108
*** 102

[Andy Hamric]

I've dug around on the internet and discovered that Helvetia was founded in 1895 in Biel by the "General Watch Co.," according to a couple different websites.

[crsides]

I have a HC Elgin 16s made mid 40's. The case was made with no provision for a crystal or bezel. The hands are thick steel. The porcelain dots are place on the numbers.

A responded from the UK said his father and uncle were blinded in WWII and some society provided the watches to them. Instead of feeling for the dots, he said they would place their thumbs on the center of the dial and could tell you precisely what time it was by the position of the hour and min hands.

The Elgin is listed in Cooksey & Shugart.

[Andy Hamric]

This method of reading a Braille watch sounds very odd to me. Of course you read it by the position of the hands, the dots are there as reference so you can tell which number the hands are pointing at. Imagine trying to read a watch without numbers, that would be the equivalent of a Braille watch without dots.

My girlfriend never uses her thumb to read her Braille watch. Probably because she doesn't use her thumb to read Braille text.

[Tom McIntyre]

Reading one's own watch without numbers should be straightforward. You know what convention you have adopted for the 12:00 with respect to the pendent. With a stranger's watch you might not know.

Do Braille watches have the pendent at 12:00 or 3:00? If someone checked his or her Braille watch frequently, I would think they would quickly internalize the relation of the pendent to the hands. Depressing the crown with the thumb to open the cover puts the index finger in a good position to touch the center of the hands and read the time. Perhaps the story from the UK got a little garbled in transmission.

If one only used the watch occasionally, the dots would be necessary since you would not get enough practice to develop center touch reading.

I don't know whether Breguet invented the Montre a Tact or not, but his examples have an external hand on the back of the case that is stationary until it is turned against an internal stop. There are protrusions around the edge typically to assist in reading the time. These watches were designed for surreptitiously reading the time with the watch in your pocket during boring meetings.

Tom McIntyre
NAWCC 2nd VP Candidate
Tommy the JOAT's Web (http://www.AWCo.org)

[crsides]

Here's the previous thread - see comment from RICH

old ref::http://nawcc-mb.infopop.cc/eve/forums?a=tpc&s=2386079361&f=4316035461&m=1076085461

[Andy Hamric]

I've been under the impression (from observation) that the reading of Braille watches is not particularly accurate (one hour sometimes being mistaken for another). However, I have failed to take into account two things: 1) People 50 years ago didn't have talking watches or clocks and so got much more practice reading their Braille watches; and 2) modern Braille wrist watches can have dials significantly smaller than vintage pocket watches.

The watch I've been observing on eBay has stem at 12:00. I know that for modern wrist watches, the hinge is not always at the same part of the case, although the setting wheel is always at 3:00 just like standard wrist watches.

[This message was edited by Andy Hamric on December 04, 2002 at 12:24.]

[Jim Carroll]

The CYMA watch I have is just like the one in the previous thread, only 15 Jewels.
The pendent is at 3, so I could understand the use of the thumb to check the time.
As the front cover goes towards the fingers, if you are right-handed, leaving the thumb free.
What surprises me is the case is exactly the same, on both sides “smooth”, just like the watch on Auction and there is no way of telling which way round the watch is.

Jim Carroll
NAWCC 156108
*** 102