Its a west end watch .Want to know how genuine are these pocket watches ..Claims to be from 1800s and the other one (on the red background) 1920s..Any idea how much should I pay for it.

[Brunowatch1900]

[oldhippy]

Both are genuine. The first is the better of the two, the movement is jeweled and the second is not.  The first could be a silver case the second isn't and it has a hair line fracture in the dial.  

[nickelsilver]

They are genuine with the exception that neither are remotely "railroad" anything.  These are almost bottom of the barrel quality, just a hair above Roskopf. Many cheap watches from the early 20th century incorporated railroad themes to promote a view of quality; a dead giveaway is usually the mention of railroad and/or images of trains. I doubt either is late 1800s, both look 1st 2 decades-ish of 20th century (maybe up to 30s or so).

 

These are worth very little. But might be fun to fix up and carry around.

[oldhippy]

Sorry you cannot compare these pocket watches to that bloody Russian crap Roskopf. Both are Swizz made. The first has an average jeweled movement, the second is at the lower end because the train isn't jeweled. The dates are about right. 

[Neverenoughwatches]

2 hours ago, Brunowatch1900 said:

Anybody know what the dial label of # matchless# means on second one ? My first thought of it being readable in low light is a wild guess.

[RichardHarris123]

Or without compare? 

[Neverenoughwatches]

3 minutes ago, RichardHarris123 said:

Or without compare? 

That also crossed my mind but its a very big claim lol. I wondered if it was more relating to a feature of the watch.

[RichardHarris123]

12 minutes ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

That also crossed my mind but its a very big claim lol. I wondered if it was more relating to a feature of the watch.

Snake oil and other panacea's.  No such thing as honest marketing in those days. 

[tomh207]

Only “matchless “ brand I know is for motorcycles, generally WWII.

 

tom

[oldhippy]

Matchless" and "Antimagnetic on dials is just a distraction from the quality of the Watch.

[Nucejoe]

 You can find all sorts of  calibers in west end watches nearly all are of low to mid quality, there are few exceptions however Longine movement powered some  SECUNDUS ( a sub brand of west end ) for the Indian elite. 

The most famous class is the SOWAR, a Persian word meaning rider ie; one who rides, in farsi if you ride a bicylce, a horse, motor cycle even a aeroplane you have sowar ed the vehicle. 

Sowar was initially made for the British Indian cavalry.

Not many matchless were made but no rare west end watch  as fifteen million pieces were sold world wide, and nothing is obsolete in India.

Wear your west end watches in good health pal.

 

[Neverenoughwatches]

50 minutes ago, oldhippy said:

Matchless" and "Antimagnetic on dials is just a distraction from the quality of the Watch.

I understand that dial names labels etc can draw attention and i bet sales ,now what red blooded male wouldnt want Hunter or Mustang on the face of his watch ( yes I've seen both these names on actually quite nice looking vintage watches, and i dare to admit i bid for one with Mustang and a logo of a stallion  on it ). I cant put any meaning to matchless though unless like Richard said non comparable. I was hoping for some obscure name for a feature.

[Nucejoe]

 What sold west end watch in my neck of the woods was that  importers provided spare parts, even today balance complete for fifty year old fhf70 can be bought. 

You get a standard grade automatic ETA and spare parts to it, so its still a daily wearer specially in rural areas. 

Spare parts to  bulova, Elgine, waltham  are  not available here, mainly due to it being considered an American brand despite the Swiss movement in such American brands. Same Swiss movement in Swiss watch sells fast.

Whoever though of watch market bearing the brunt of potitics.

 

 

[Brunowatch1900]

On 6/19/2023 at 4:39 PM, oldhippy said:

Both are genuine. The first is the better of the two, the movement is jeweled and the second is not.  The first could be a silver case the second isn't and it has a hair line fracture in the dial.  

Thank you so much sir that was such a good insight…

 

19 hours ago, Nucejoe said:

 You can find all sorts of  calibers in west end watches nearly all are of low to mid quality, there are few exceptions however Longine movement powered some  SECUNDUS ( a sub brand of west end ) for the Indian elite. 

The most famous class is the SOWAR, a Persian word meaning rider ie; one who rides, in farsi if you ride a bicylce, a horse, motor cycle even a aeroplane you have sowar ed the vehicle. 

Sowar was initially made for the British Indian cavalry.

Not many matchless were made but no rare west end watch  as fifteen million pieces were sold world wide, and nothing is obsolete in India.

Wear your west end watches in good health pal.

 

Thank you so much sir finally understood the deal with this brand being populated (widely available ) in India …will love to learn more 

[Nucejoe]

3 hours ago, Brunowatch1900 said:

Thank you so much sir finally understood the deal with this brand being populated (widely available ) in India …will love to learn more 

Best place to get an idea of the price is ebay, of sellers from India.

I would buy the Matchless if you love it, providing the hairspring coil is unmolested.