Wm. Eberly

[time off]

I have a pocket watch with the name Wm. Eberly, Boston Mass. #7410 inside the case. I cannot seem to find any info except something abou tfake swiss watches! any ideas?

[time off]

I have a pocket watch with the name Wm. Eberly, Boston Mass. #7410 inside the case. I cannot seem to find any info except something abou tfake swiss watches! any ideas?

[John F]

We'll need to see a picture of the movement to know for sire, but it sure sounds like it's a swiss fake, intending to fool someone into someone into thinking that it's a Waltham "Wm. Ellery" model.

[time off]

I will try to get a picture to you. Can you tell me a little more about the fakes? This watch looks real nice to me. But I do not know much about it. thanks

[John F]

With the rise of the American watch industry, there was a flood of imitiators, usually swiss, that copied the design and style of US watches, and even though they were intended to look like high quality watches, they were an inferior product (sort of like today's Rolex knock-offs). Many had US-sounding names of fictional watch companies, such as "Ohio Watch Co." and "Rockville Watch Co.," and many others slightly changed existing names, such as "Hampdon Watch Co." instead of "Hampden" (or sometimes just "H.W.Co."), or as I suspect in the case of the watch you have, "Eberly" instead of "Ellery."

With a little practice, you can begin to tell a swiss fake from the real McCoy pretty quickly. Usually, if gilt it's not as good or bright as the imitated US counterpart, the overall finish is rougher, the balance wheel is uncut, jewel settings are fake, and watches masquerading as railroad quality will have high-faloutin' sounding names (such as "Railyway Time Keeper") and be marked with higher jewel counts than they actually have.

An 1871 law required imported watches to be marked with the country of origin, but this requirement was often evaded. Still, the number of swiss fakes dropped off by the end of the 19th century.

Some folks find these collectible in their own right.

[John F]

I am posting a picture of the "Wm. Eberly" that Tom ("time off") sent to me. As suspected, it's a Model 1857 swiss fake, but appears to be in pretty decent condition. He's also asking whether it's worth getting it in running condition. I thought that it's probably not worth the time and money, but I would expect that Tom would appreciate hearing opinions other than just my own.

http://static.flickr.com/38/76063219_db7125e3a4.jpg

[time off]

John F.
The other watch picture has on the back case cover GUGU 5038. On the watch works, the name on it is Johan Mayer and Regensburg.The pillar legs(5) look like notched columns, wider on the bottom. I don't see any hallmarks. The watch is also in a seperate case that comes completely off. Can anyone help me with indentification and any other info? Thanks And Merry Christmas everyone!