Ferguson Dial

[John Cote]

James,

This eBay # does not work for me. Perhaps you could send a link or check the # again.

The Ferguson dial thing has been on here quite a few times lately. Perhaps Rick could re-post the old thread.

John Cote

[Larry Jones 98326]

Hi Jim,

I don't have a refernce handy but I believe the patent dates on the back of the genuine Ferguson dials are in the teens. The watch in question dates to about 1908 by serial number.

That doesn't mean the dial isn't original, because it could have been ordered and installed later. A genuine dial will be porcelain and will have patent dates on the back. The reproductions are only marked Swiss on the back.

Computer images are tough but I don't care for the looks of the dial in question. I would suggest that you specifically ask the seller if the dial is original or not, ask how the dial is marked on the back, and ask what his return policy is.


Larry

[Rick White]

As Larry says it is hard to tell from computer generated images whether genuine or reproduction. I have emailed the seller of the watch to notify him about this discussion. We had a wonderful thread on Ferguson watches on 2/12/01 but it looks like the originator of the thread deleted it. :frown: The best way to see if a Ferguson is real is to remove the dial and look for the patent dates. There are more obvious fakes being made which are plastic membranes stretched over a metal disc. These are easy to spot by experienced collectors because, they are plastic, some of them have 45min. blue markers, and they don't have dial feet. The only way they are secured is by small bits of two sided tape called dial dots.A lot of people are selling these dials as real because they are two to three transactions from the original deal where it was made plain they were fake. I wonder what will happen in a few more years??
Follow Larry 's advice and do the homework, ask questions of the seller and find out about his return policy.

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Rick White
Pocket Watches Moderator

[John Cote]

James,

I got the eBay # to work. I agree that it doesn't look real, but it is hard to tell. Here is a link to a real one http://www.interstatetime.com/Broke/Slide_59_Big.htm .

John Cote

[Larry Jones 98326]

John,

What is the range of patent dates (years) on your dial? I can't quite read them on the image. They all look to be pre-1910, so I may have erred in my comment above about the patent dates and date of the movement. Thanks for posting the image...

.....After putting the two dials up side by side, I see one clear difference and one possible on the front side:

1. The number 6 on John's dial is considerably lower.

2. The shoulders for the sunken steps on John's dial appear considerably more pronounced, which fits my recollection of the reproduction dials having a more subtle shoulder. This is hard to tell from the image.

Rick,

There is a similar thread posted 10-10-2000.

Larry


[This message has been edited by Larry Jones 98326 (edited 02-25-2001).]

[Jon Hanson]

Larry,

The patent dates on one of mine are, as follows:

Nov 17, 1908 for the USA THROUGH FEB 8, 1909 for Spain. THERE IS ALSO ANOTHER INVENTORY NUMBER(?) of 3132.

If people need a scan, I will be happy to do it.

Jon H.

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Jon Hanson, moderator, nawcc#8801

[John Cote]

Larry,

I believe the patent dates for the dial in my link are the same as Jon's

John Cote