Step-grandfather's watch?

[Mikrolisk]

I think, the sites http://barrygoldberg.net/watch33.htm and http://www.timezone.com/library/tmachine/tmachine0007 could be of some interest for you.

As I compare the movement serial numbers, your watch must be made in the late 1920s or early 1930s...

But really a nice watch! I would keep it!

Regards, Andreas

[Kent]

Hi Michael:

Welcome to the NAWCC Pocket Watch Message Board!

What a wonderful watch to have passed down from your (step-)grandfather. A few items of interest are listed below:

The Ball Watch Co. had movements made to Ball's specifications by various watch manufacturers.

Official RR Standard (ORRS) was Ball's trade mark grade name for railroad grade watches (as opposed to those that weren't adjusted highly enough to pass inspection, the commercial grade watches). To learn more about railroad time service, time inspection and railroad standard watches, see ”Just What Is A Railroad Watch?” On the Pocket Horology, NAWCC Chapter 174 Website (http://www.pockethorology.org/).

In addition to marketing watches, the Ball organization had a branch that performed time inspection services under contract to the railroads. In a 1910 interview, Ball claimed that his inspection services covered about half the railroads in the U.S. Documents have yet to come to light indicating that these services were performed in Canada as well, but there was one branch of Ball operations in Winnipeg; The Canadian Ball Watch Company, Ltd. Movements were shipped to Canadian Ball, who would then case them in-house. Its not clear if these were shipped directly from the original manufacturers, or if they were shipped through Ball in the U.S. Thus, its also not fully clear if watches were adjusted by Canadian Ball, or if they were adjusted by Ball in Chicago and then shipped to Winnipeg.

Tables of Ball serial numbers, listed by manufacturers, can be found in “American Railroad Watches,” George E. Townsend, Col. G.E. Townsend, Alma, MI, 1977 (still in print, see Heart of America Press (http://www.hoapress.com)).

The Ball 'B' prefix series of numbers, for 16-size watches, starts in 1896 with Waltham-Ball watches which run to about 1922. The 'B' prefix serial numbers are truncated Waltham serial numbers (the "millions" digits are chopped off) and do not appear to be in an ascending sequence until about 1903 with serial number B202001. They then follow in ascending, chronological sequence to B271000 in about 1922. However, there are Waltham-Ball 'B' prefix serial numbers from 1896 to about 1903 that appear to be above or below that sequence. A few Waltham-Ball serial numbers overlap some of the Hamilton-Ball serial numbers in the neighborhood of B640001 - B643500.

16-size Hamilton-Ball serial numbers start in 1910 with serial number B600001 and end at B655200 in about 1943 when the 999B came out. Up to that point, all 16-size Hamilton-Ball ORRS watches were listed in Hamilton records as grade 999. The 999B starts their own, new series of serial numbers having a '1B' prefix. These start with 1B001 in about 1943 and run up to about 1B27600 in the 1950s. A sample of serial numbers and dates, starting with serial number 1B451, can be seen in an Excerpt from Hamilton Production Ledger #376 (http://photos4.flickr.com/9785197_a0c1712e63_o.jpg). An exception is 700 999Bs made in 1943-1944, having a '2B' prefix: 2B001 - 2B700.

More about Webb C. Ball and his companies can be seen at:

The Ohio Biographies Project (http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~usbios/Ohio/bios/cuyahoga/ballw.txt). However, this story fails to recognize that there was railroad time service and watch inspection since the late 1840’s and early 1850’s.

According to information in the book, “American Railroad Watches,” George E. Townsend, Col. G.E. Townsend, Alma, MI, 1977 (still in print, see Heart of America Press (http://www.hoapress.com)), your watch, serial number B600969, was built in 1910 and is from the first run of 16-size, Official RR Standard watches that Hamilton built for Ball. Ball advertising and catalogs did not identify the original manufacturer of the watches, as can be seen in this 1910 Ad (http://photos21.flickr.com/35155733_3891105e60_o.jpg).

You have a very nice watch, treasure it.

[doug sinclair]

Michael,

Welcome to the National Association of Watch & Clock Collectors Message Board! I think those of us here are glad that you found this board before you did anything foolish, like sell the Ball!

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally I was going to sell this, but now I'm not so sure. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

When a bunch of ardent watch collectors who are finding it more and more difficult to find good watches at any price, agree that you should not sell the Ball, I hope you have decided once and for all to keep it! Mind you, we'd all be there, cap in hand, if you WERE to decide to sell it! It is a very collectible watch! Enjoy!

[Kent]

Michael:

Watches that are carried daily need to be cleaned and oiled at regular intervals. Railroad time service rules varied, but requirements for cleaning on a basis of once every year and a half were typical for railroaders at the turn of the century. By the mid-1920’s this was extended to two year intervals.

The “Sears, Roebuck and Co., Inc. Catalogue No. 104,” Chicago, IL, 1897, reprinted by Chelsea House, Philadelphia, PA, 1968 had this to say on page 371:

“We Guarantee for Five Years All the movements sold by us. This does not refer to the life of the movement, but that we will for five years from date of purchase, correct free of charge any fault which may occur from defective material or workmanship. Any well made movement will run a lifetime if properly cared for.
“Remember That your watch should not run longer than one and one-half years without having the old oil cleaned off and fresh oil supplied. This must be done at the expense of the purchaser.
“The balance wheel of all modern watches makes 18,000 beats or revolutions per hour; 432,000 per day, or 157,788,000 per year. An engine or sewing machine will be oiled several times per day, but we have known people to carry a watch for ten years without having it cleaned or fresh oil applied.
“Usually, a movement thus treated is of no value, being entirely worn out. Take good care of your watch if you wish it to perform its duty properly, for it is a very delicate machine. Our charge for cleaning and oiling is 75 cents. The regular retail price is $1.50.”

Watch cleaning and oiling costs a bit more today than it did a hundred years ago. 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>
<span class="ev_code_blue">To view, go to the </span><span class="ev_code_brown">Elgin Watch Collectors Site Home Page</span> <span class="ev_code_blue">at</span> <span class="ev_code_brown">elginwatches.com</span>, <span class="ev_code_blue">then copy and paste the address in your browser's address bar and click on </span>'Go'.

Also, Ed Ueberall, of The Escapement (http://members.aol.com/stdwatch) has put together some notes on the Use And Care of Your Vintage Watch (http://www.knology.net/~ksinger/carefeed.txt) that should be helpful.

[Jeff Hess]

You are a lucky man! A goo d90 percent of my customers that walk into my vintage watch shop with "Granpa's railroad watch" walk out having been told that therr heirloom watch is not only NOT a railroad watch but often not even worth (monetarily) the cost to clean and fix it.

Yours is not only a bona fide railroad watch but a fine one indeed! It will serve you and YOUR grandson as well!

Keep it!
Jeff Hess