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So I bought this clock today...


Jesma

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My first post so please forgive any faux pas.

I bought this wonderfully old rugged looking clock at a salvation army today. I have looked all afternoon trying to find out what exactly I bought and sadly I haven't found much info. There seems to be the possibility that it was in some kind of military vehicle, everything I've found says that a watch maker/repair expert and not a clock maker is who would know about the inner workings, and I came across a picture linked to this forum that had a similar looking clock. So here I am hoping that I stumbled upon the minds who will tell me all the things!

Waltham Watch Co.                                                   8 day clock.                                                         found the serial #, chart says made in 1929.         I wound it and it's keeping time.

 

 

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Looks like a car clock. What is the size of it? Early car clocks just had a wind up movement. Waltham is an American company. Not sure on the types of military vehicle back in1929. Many car clocks worked off the car battery.

Luminous hands and dial, it was meant to be seen in the dark. Did cars have interior lighting back then?   

 

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Could it be aviation related .......?

If I search Waltham aviation clocks, similar looking clocks appear .... this one being a WW1 clock.

https://historicaviationsupply.com/products/ww1-waltham-xa-army-air-section-military-aircraft-clock

in case it is aviation (1929), you've a nice find .... of course it may just as well be from a vehicle ... worth to check it out a bit further ....!

Nice clock and nice find BTW :biggrin:

Edited by Endeavor
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4 hours ago, oldhippy said:

Did cars have interior lighting back then?

Candles (in those drafty cabin)? :biggrin: I guess on the outside they (still) had carbide lamps ..... Perhaps driving at night wasn't very common in those days either ..... unless you really had to. Most likely these carbide, or perhaps even electrical lamps didn't lit up the horizon for a proper save ride .... things were quite different, but advanced then !!

Edited by Endeavor
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Pretty sure its a Pioneer-Waltham type 543 or 544.

On the dial above 8 days there is writing but it looks like it has been deliberately hidden, maybe at some point in the past some 'liberated' it and then scrubbed off the serial number not to be caught.

The line above 8 days had the serial on it and above that the type number, try and hold it in some light and see if you can read it.

The clock was made by Waltham for Pioneer Instrument as an aircraft clock, the movement will be 37 size and either 7 or 15 jewels.

Elgin also made a similar clock for Pioneer which I'm currently restoring, mine has worn the 4th wheel pivot hole oval and worn the pivot, so requires a jewel to be fitted to fix it.

As a side note although these were originally made for aircraft they were also used in automobiles and desk clocks.

The link above to the other clock with the winder facing down is a Waltham XA or XX aircraft clock of similar vintage to the one above.

For those that like buying books this information came from 'Military Timepieces' by Marvin Whitney which is basically the 'bible' for military timepieces made in the USA, or used by the USA military.

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Tmuir you are correct it has been blacked out with paint above where it says 8 days but I can see that is says "serial no ....." and "Type A 5..." Most of the numbers are unreadable, at least to me. I did find the 15 jewels stamp. 

I used the number on the mechanism when I looked on the chart of serial numbers. So my dating could be wrong. There are other numbers scratched into the back and a plate with what I believe says order no & part no. I know next to nothing about time pieces in general so I very much appreciate all your responses! 

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Just now, Jesma said:

Tmuir you are correct it has been blacked out with paint above where it says 8 days but I can see that is says "serial no ....." and "Type A 5..." Most of the numbers are unreadable, at least to me. I did find the 15 jewels stamp. 

I used the number on the mechanism when I looked on the chart of serial numbers. So my dating could be wrong. There are other numbers scratched into the back and a plate with what I believe says order no & part no. I know next to nothing about time pieces in general so I very much appreciate all your responses! 

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15370191538205990320517762918238.jpg

    that tag may have said "signal corps".    the scratched in number might be the "repair log"   U S instruments were often replaced regularly even if they were working fine,  "open and inspect"  or calibration.  vin

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A5, ok not made for Pioneer, but same movement as the ones made for Pioneer, as Vinn3 says getting hard to find now and collectable.

Only other thing I can add is the dial and hands will have radium paint on it, not really an issue unless you service it, but then only an issue if you are not careful about the dust from it and don't wash your hands afterwards.

 

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The small tag says:

ORDER No 30-4223-P

PA (illegible) 0-636

WALTHAM WATCH CO

I plan to buy a mount for it and keep it. It's a wonderful piece and even more so with the knowledge I'm gaining.  All for 2$, some internet searching, and shared knowledge! 

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2 minutes ago, Jesma said:

  All for 2$, some internet searching, and shared knowledge! 

:startle:

If I had found that in a charity shop I would of happily paid over $100 for it, and if it ticked then would pay $150 (USD), but then I'm in Australia and things like that are very hard to come across here.

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Wow! I did not expect my 2$ find to be worth that much. 

My mom and I like to search for what we call junktiques and when I saw it I figured it looked kinda military and would be a neat piece to display. When I first wound it there was no ticking. I tinkered with it and started googling when I got home and now it's keeping time perfectly. I think I'll not mess with it anymore and find someone who has the skills to clean it and preserve it. 

Thank you all again for your collective knowledge! 

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  • 2 months later...

Beware of inhaling the radium dust from the dial and hands. The half-life is 1600 years. In the body it goes into the bones and irradiates the bone marrow all your life. The radon gas that comes out is not really bad, also the direct radiation is not dangerous at a some distance.

 

 

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