collecting bug

[Dave Stott]

okay, I officially have the collecting bug... ever since my dad passed down a MJ Tobias pocket watch and a nice swiss watch. I have beeen admiring pocket watches at tag sales, antique stores, etc....

my question is: I purchased a non descript (no maker marking on it)key wound pocket watch... nice silver .935 case. The case has several marking on it which indicates it and the watch were probably made in England. Due to the size & workings, I am guessing late 1800's.

my local watchmaker tells me that it has worn pivots and the time it would take him to fix it would outweigh the value of the watch. he also tells me that it would probably not run very well.

The local watchmaker also has a preference for high end watches and tends to avoid working on lesser grade models. He dislikes working on Elgins, etc...

Do I take his advice and just display the watch or do I try and find another person??

thanks

Dave

[Dave Stott]

okay, I officially have the collecting bug... ever since my dad passed down a MJ Tobias pocket watch and a nice swiss watch. I have beeen admiring pocket watches at tag sales, antique stores, etc....

my question is: I purchased a non descript (no maker marking on it)key wound pocket watch... nice silver .935 case. The case has several marking on it which indicates it and the watch were probably made in England. Due to the size & workings, I am guessing late 1800's.

my local watchmaker tells me that it has worn pivots and the time it would take him to fix it would outweigh the value of the watch. he also tells me that it would probably not run very well.

The local watchmaker also has a preference for high end watches and tends to avoid working on lesser grade models. He dislikes working on Elgins, etc...

Do I take his advice and just display the watch or do I try and find another person??

thanks

Dave

[Kent]

Dave:

Its very difficult to advise one answer or the other. So much depends upon your personal taste and just how attached you are to the watch. If it was a family heirloom, the answer would be easy, but that's not the case here.

From an economic standpoint, it makes no sense to put more money into repair of a watch than the watch would be worth in running condition. But then, so many of us do just that because we like a particular watch. However, we usually do this with one that is more than a "... non descript ... key wound pocket watch."

Check out What You Need To Know About Watch Repair at Wayne Schlitt's Elgin Website:
<span class="ev_code_brown">www.midwestcs.com/elgin/help/watch_repair.html</span>
(you should copy this address and paste it in your browser address bar) - <span class="ev_code_blue">if this don't work the first time, try opening a new window for your browser, one without a previous visit to the NAWCC website - Or, if you get the "</span>Incorrect Access ...<span class="ev_code_blue">" message, chose "</span>the Elgin Watch Collectors Site<span class="ev_code_blue">" and when you get to the Elgin Watch Collectors Site home page, then paste the address in your browser's address bar.</span>)

Good luck,
Kent

[Dave Stott]

Thanks Kent,

I used the temo non descript... mainly because of the lack of any makers markings on it...

It's a nice open faced English made key wind pocket watch made in the late 1800's. No cracks on the porcelain face and based upon the repairman's diagnosis, the only flaw is that it has worn pivots.

Sometimes I get the impression that the local watchmaker is very willing to work on those watches which interest him, but makes excuses to not work on those that come in on a regular basis. ie.. the common man's pocket watch.

I think I will try and get a 2nd opinion on the watch and repair costs.

thanks for the advice Kent

[Kent]

Dave:

You might consider The Escapement,

http://www.knology.net/~ksinger/escapement_logo_sm.jpg (http://members.aol.com/stdwatch)
Click for info.

You might not get a response until after New Years's day weekend.

Good luck,
Kent

[Tom Huber]

Dave, Just to relate a story of watch repair. About 35 years ago, before I began working on watches, I acquired two pocket watches--both were Illinois 18S watches. One is an 11J Columbia grade and the other is an IWC grade, 7J Keywind. Neither watch was running. I took them into a jewelry store for repair and was told essentially what you were told. Neither would ever work, they were worn out, and they weren't worth it. I put them away. Several years later, I began the long process of learning to work on watches. After learning to work on them for about five years, I remembered the two Illinois watches. I dug them out of a drawer and looked them over. Now, by this time, I knew what to look for. They both needed only a cleaning and oiling. I still have both watches. They run well and keep good time.

I guess the moral is that many jewelry stores will not want to touch an antique PW, and will turn away the customer with comments like you got.

I would recommend that you get a second opinion.

Tom

[BrianC]

Dave,
Here is another story of watch repair that I will never forget.
One afternoon I was in my friend's clock repair shop where I repaired the watches that came in. A man came in the shop and handed my friend a pocket watch and asked him if it could be repaired? My friend said let's see, the man that repairs my watches is right here, handing me the watch. It was a beat-up Ingersoll Dollar Watch. I took the back cover off and imediately saw the hairspring was mangled and the staff was broken. I put the cover back on the watch and handed back to the man saying, "this watch isn't worth fixing". What he said back to me is a lesson I will never forget. He said, "That's not what I asked you. This watch was my dad's and I wanted to know if it could be fixed". I felt so low, I told him that I was sorry and yes the watch could be fixed and I would fix it for him for free. Since that day, I have never told anyone that their watch isn't worth fixing.
Brian C.

[Dave Stott]

thanks guys for the background..

I guess I am leery of the opinion from the local watchmaker from past experiences.

My dad passed down to me a M.J. Tobias, cylinder escapement gold pocket watch. It did not work and had a yellowed plastic crystal.

The local watchmaker told me that even if he were to get it running, it never would be accurate.

He told me that cylinder escapement pocket watches were also known as evening watches. You wind it up to go out for the evening and by the time you get home, it is no longer accurate. Thus you only carried it in the evening.

He told me that I would be better suited cleaning it and putting it in a display case.

So, I have now taken 2 watches to this repairman and he did not feel either should be worked on, either due to the quality of the manufacturer or due to the amount of work needed.

thanks,

Dave

[doug sinclair]

Dave,

I can sort of understand the disappointment the owner of an antique watch experiences when he or she finds difficulty in having someone to undertake its repair. Speaking as someone who repairs watches for a living, I too have been known to turn down the occasional watch. Why? Well, it's because hours spent attempting to repair a watch that cannot satisfy the customer means the possibility of a refund, OR hours spent with no hope whatever of being paid for my efforts! I would no more expect you to pay me for an unsuccessful repair than should you expect me to work for hours for free! If I ignore the instinct that it is a hopeless case and undertake the repair, the result being that it runs, but not to the owner's expectations, it is my reputation that suffers. Chances are the owner is not going to blame the watch. In short, it is my business to help people with broken watches and clocks, and I very much wish I could help everyone. But that day will never come, unfortunately!

[Dave Stott]

thanks Doug...

I guess it's time for me to buy some really cheap watches along with some watch technical and repair books and begin learning how to fix them myself.

Dave

[Jon Hanson]

try the nawcc emart!

[RobertG]

Dave:
If you are not already a member of the NAWCC, I was strongly encourage you to join. Find a local chapter near you (look at the directory on the NAWCC main page), then sign up for the Suitcase Class on basic PW repair.

It is a four day, Friday through Monday, class and will go a very long way to give you the training and confidence you will need to repair your own watches.

RobertG