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clone5

By clone5
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clone5 New Member

clone5

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Hi

Just dipping my toe into this hobby and no doubt will open up a rabbit hole of which I will never return.

It all started with a youtube video and then multiple then different channels. Now I am hooked and would love to accomplish what I have seen

I had forgotten that I received my great grandfather's 18K gold pocket watch ages ago, and would like to get it running but it is currently way above my pay grade. Whilst I cannot identify it yet, the movement is roughly 35mm across, has a self winder of a design I have not seen before, and I think is a minute repeater style. I will post pictures.

Of what I can see there is a barrel bridge screw missing which may be stuck somewhere inside causing the stoppage. It needs a new crystal of which the aperture is 38mm.

I would love to work up the skills to strip, clean and reassemble this timepiece and would welcome and feedback on it's age and identity.

Regards

Josh

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grsnovi Distinguished Member

grsnovi

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Thanks for the intro @clone5, welcome to the WRT forum! I'm also relatively new and I'm in the middle of my first service of an Elgin Grade 313 movement.

Your grandfather's watch is gorgeous! Like you I was encouraged by various YT videos and I'm in the middle of a revival of a purchased Elgin. I keep feeling like I need more tools...

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KarlvonKoln Distinguished Member

KarlvonKoln

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Took me a bit of poking around, but I would bet good money that it was made by Henry Sandoz of Le Locle.  With two hammers, it would be a quarter-, five-, or minute-repeater.  It is also a flyback chronometer (those fine-toothed wheels atop the barrel bridge and third wheel bar).  I have to agree whole-heartedly with you: that is not a beginner's watch.  There are experts who turn pale if a customer should bring one in.  Parts will not be easy to come by.  But take heart: later on, with more experience, you can take your time.  You won't have a deadline like some repair technicians.  And you can take plenty of pictures as you go.
Disclaimer: as to the maker, I am NOT an expert nor an appraiser.  I'm only making an educated guess.  But I do happen to be a fan of Sandoz and his method of constructing repeaters, and I have worked on one of his.  In my own personal opinion, that watch has his style all over it.  But I could still be wrong.  I believe his layout was also copied by others. If I had to guess a year of manufacture on it, I'd speculate mid- to late-1900s, but maybe not 'teens.
EDIT: smashing watch, BTW.  The more I look at it, the more I think it could actually be from the 'teens.  Out of curiosity, does it run at all?  Does the balance swing evenly and with no wobble to speak of?

Edited by KarlvonKoln
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clone5 New Member

clone5

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3 hours ago, KarlvonKoln said:

EDIT: smashing watch, BTW.  The more I look at it, the more I think it could actually be from the 'teens.  Out of curiosity, does it run at all?  Does the balance swing evenly and with no wobble to speak of?

 

Thank you Karl. I have been wondering what make this pocket watch is and perhaps this is a Henry Sandoz of Le Locle. I will keep searching.

Currently it is a non-runner however as you can see in the video, it was running for a short time. If you listen closely you can actually hear the movement. I did not closely check the balance but it does look full of life. After this video was shot at the end of March 2022, I packed it up and put it away again letting it run down on its own. I have taken it out again and tried to put some wind into the main spring but it didn't start up.

Seeing it run gives me hop that it will will clean up and run eventually.

Thanks again

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KarlvonKoln Distinguished Member

KarlvonKoln

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If it was running before, and nothing else has happened to it since then, then the likelihood is great that a careful cleaning and fresh oil will bring it back to full health.  But I would not blame you if you wanted to wait a while until you had more experience and felt ready.  That is wisest.  For something like this, you must really plan ahead.  Make sure you will have all the tools you will need; be prepared to take plenty of pictures as you go along; research the functioning of such mechanisms to understand why the parts are placed where they are, and what they do, and how they do it.  And never forget: a pocket watch has many parts which are delicate and easily broken - a repeater even more so.  But with a repeater, it is so much harder to get replacements for a broken part.  When the time comes, you probably already know that you will need to be extra careful.  But I have faith that your time will come to do this.  And the watch will tick merrily again. Patience pays dividends.

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