Best american pocket watches

[the lonely jewler]

what are the five best american pocket watches
such as the best made pocket watch the 2nd best made 3rd best made... and so on.

[the lonely jewler]

what are the five best american pocket watches
such as the best made pocket watch the 2nd best made 3rd best made... and so on.

[Watch Carefully]

I'll nominate the Hamilton 950B as one of them.

Maybe also the Hamilton 923.

I cannot say about 3 others...some late model Elgin 23j RR model?...a Waltham?...South Bend?...25j Columbus Railway King?

Anyone have a vote?

[Charles Isham]

Without a doubt the highest quality watches ARE THE AMERICAN GRADE WALTHAMS.

Charles Isham

[Greg Davis]

Hmmm... I have a problem with the nature of the question. My problem is that I don't know what criteria are being considered for the decision, and how they are weighted. Indeed, these points determine how the decision is biased.

My personal preference is for older watches. But as with any technology, advances are made as time goes by, so the later (younger) watches, such as the Hamilton 950, will be the most technically advanced. That makes them no more desirable to me.

Indeed, one of the things that makes older watches desirable to me is their proven ability to stand the test of time... and continuing to function correctly despite the effects of aging. Now perhaps the newer, more technically advanced watches will do the same... but even when that is the case, the older watches will still have a longer track record.

In other words, if longevity is given any weight at all, the list of the "best" will tilt.

Likewise, if craftsmanship is given consideration, then again we see a slant toward older watches, which had more hands-on involvement and more individual attention to details.

So what are my top 5? Well, I don't really have a list I carry in my head. At present, I would say the list would include Waltham model '83s, perhaps the 845 and 18S Vanguards, and probably an old 18S Bunn Special. None of my top five list would be 16S... I just never got into them.

- Greg

150941
Ch.149 member #77

[Spike]

Two nominations so far of Hamiltons, with particular mention of the 923. I’ve never seen the interior of any movements so all I have to go on is the appearance of the top plates. On that basis: 18S Hamiltons look a bit cheesy (http://www.oldwatch.com/Museum/Ham923movcu.html) to me. Am I the only one with that impression?

[Jerry Treiman]

Annie,
Take a look at this thread where there is a nice picture of the 923 --
old ref::http://nawcc-mb.infopop.cc/eve/forums?a=tpc&s=2386079361&f=4316035461&m=5326088843[/url]

For pictures of some other 12-size Hamiltons, take a look at this thread from the Photo Gallery on the Chapter 185 message board --
[url="http://nawcc-***-mb.infopop.cc/6/ubb.x?a=tpc&s=3206049661&f=5656047761&m=6746050013"]http://nawcc-***-mb.infopop.cc/6/ubb.x?a=tpc&s=3206049661&f=5656047761&m=6746050013

The Hamilton grade 900 is among the favorite watches of many collectors for its layout and finish. ... and they are not too difficult to find!

[Spike]

Thanks Jerry – I assumed Watch Carefully was referring to the 18S 923, not the 10S. I made that assumption because (this is an act of contrition!) I didn’t realize til now that there were two different 923’s!

[Greg Davis]

They still look cheesy to me. Cheap, engine-turned plates. (yawn) How intolerably uninteresting. :wink:

150941
Ch.149 member #77

[Steve Maddox]

Annie writes:

"I’ve never seen the interior of any movements so all I have to go on is the appearance of the top plates."

I believe I can rectify that! Check out the image at the link below, which is from one of the higher grade products of one of the better American manufacturers (a 16 size model from the early 1900s). The image on the right is of the pillar plate with all the bridges and other parts removed; the image on the left is of the opposite side of the pillar plate, which would normally be covered by the dial.

http://members.aol.com/cueballcat/Plates.JPG

I won't mention the maker, but I'll bet some of our readers here will know!

======================

Steve Maddox
President, NAWCC Chapter #62
North Little Rock, Arkansas

[John Cote]

Annie,

I guess "cheesy" is in the eye of the beholder. I would also say that there are 18s Hamiltons and 18s hamiltons. If anyone thinks that this 18s Hamilton is cheesy looking, I..;.well...I won't know quite what to say. http://www.interstatetime.com/WatchOTM/WatchOTM-2-02.htm .

JohnCote
President, Indiana Chapter 18 - NAWCC
Member Chapter 149 (Member #105)
http://www.interstatetime.com

[Greg Davis]

Wow! Now THAT'S a pretty Hamilton! And not the least bit cheesy. :wink:

150941
Ch.149 member #77

[Spike]

Definitely not cheesy John!

But as you said there are 18s Hamiltons and 18s Hamiltons. As the accompanying text notes, “947s and 943s were prestige watches…gorgeous in every detail…a mirror like finish has been given to the round area around the jewel setting on the balance cock…Every piece of this movement which could be polished is polished to the extreme degree…this movement is ‘Fully Marked.’”

When some folks think about the “best made American pocket watches,” the highest grade, the “prestige" example, comes first to their mind. I guess my thinking is skewed by my circumstances. Because I can afford ordinary but not prestige examples I tend to wonder about models – which are “better,” for instance, 18S Hamiltons taken collectively or Waltham M83’s taken collectively?

Materials, fit and finish are essential to a mechanical watch’s performance. The genius of American watchmaking as I perceive it was to use mass production techniques to offer the ordinary consumer a mechanical watch of remarkable quality. Which model succeeded most in that effort is, to my way of thinking, at least as interesting a way to think about “best American pocket watches” as which grade was most gussied up.

18S Hamiltons, taken collectively, look a bit cheesy to me!

[This message was edited by Annie on June 27, 2003 at 12:13.]

[John Cote]

Annie,

While I agree with what you say about gussied up models, I think the same might apply to any manufacturer. We all like the gussied up models. We have seen a bunch of great looking '83 Wallys here, but to me, the usual example looks, well, cheesy. The same can apply to Elgins, Hamiltons of both 16 and 18 size, and on and on.

Some exceptions in the cheesy looking discussion might be Rockford and Illinois, which both made a lot of cheesy watches which looked pretty cool (tu-tones etc).

I guess I would have to vote for the 16 and 18 size Hammies as the best mechanical watches of the early 20th century.

JohnCote
President, Indiana Chapter 18 - NAWCC
Member Chapter 149 (Member #105)
http://www.interstatetime.com