No jewel pocket watches

[107WestStreet]

Is it true that watches that don't claim to have any jewels still have pallet and roller stones?
Also, do these no jewel watches really allow for balance wheel pivots to run in metal oiled bearings?

[107WestStreet]

Is it true that watches that don't claim to have any jewels still have pallet and roller stones?
Also, do these no jewel watches really allow for balance wheel pivots to run in metal oiled bearings?

[John F]

I would be very surprised to see a claim made for fewer jewels than a watch really had - usually it's the other way around.

[107WestStreet]

I have a Seth Thomas Pocket watch that claims No Jewels yet it has pallet stones.

[John F]

Do you mean that it's just not marked with the jewel count? That's pretty common, actually (but I wouldn't equate the lack of a jewel count on the movement with a claim of not having any jewels).

[107WestStreet]

You just said that it would surprise you if the watch had more jewels than they claimed, now you are saying that it is common to have jewels but not mention them. The watch I have makes no mention of jewels, yet there are pallet and roller jewels.

[rrwatch]

Many, (but NOT all) American made movements such as your Seth Thomas that contain from 7 to 15 jewels, do not have the number of jewels marked on the movement. Their catalog descriptions normally told the number of jewels, they just didn't put it on the watch plates themselves.

[Tom McIntyre]

If you are looking for watches with no jewels, you might want to check out http://www.americanhorologe.com where there are two interesting unjeweled watches. One is by Pitkin and the other by Custer. :biggrin:

Look under the Research Notes link.

[107WestStreet]

That is great!
I appreciate the info.
I just can't believe that some watches have NO jewels in the balance pivots. You would think that they would wear out in a day.