WillFly

Lovely watches - I treasure my Bunn Special. Nice pic too - post one of the re-assembled piece when ready?

Collecting anything is a very personal thing, and those of us who collect watches usually have particular slants on the subject. You can see my collection (well, most of it) at: www.willswatchpages.com (site currently and slowly being edited) I like pre1970, handwound styles on the whole, and some of the lesser-known and therefore overlooked, makes often have excellent movements. Many of them I picked up for a snip on eBay at the time. As far as pocket watches are concerned, I favour American, railroad-grade makes like Hamilton, Waltham, etc.

I just had to have it - if only to complement the high quality of this forum...

Ooh, jealousy has just kicked in! enjoy - and a happy birthday!

Good points, jdm, though my comments about Asian manufacturers weren’t aimed solely at named brand makers such as Seiko, Casio, etc., but the whole gamut of production. I can go on eBay and buy all the bits I need to construct my own watch - movement, case, dial, hands, strap - all Chinese made and available via Hong Kong sellers. Which is what I did a few years ago. Go to Wills Watch Pages and click on the watch labelled Custom on the Wristwatch page...

An interesting and complex read - which is why it has taken me so long to respond! The whole Swatch thing is about greed, self-interest and protectionism. Ultimately it will screw itself into the ground while Japanese and Chinese manufacturers will continue to be successful. Just my two-pennorth...

The term is used extensively on eBay - usually wrongly. As wls1971 quite rightly points out. It’s become a catch-all phrase for transition watches, where small pocket watches started to become wristwatches. Done to attract buyers, I guess. Caveat emptor!

Welcome - I also know Hastings well - living just across the border in West Sussex. Good to see you here. Will

I've had an Eco Drive chrono for some years. Good quality, rugged and reliable. Recommended.

If you can find a serial number on the movement, drop it into this database - if you haven't done this already, of course: Pocket watch database It will give you lots of data about the watch. If the crown doesn't pop out to set the watch, then it's either pin set or lever set; the first is obvious - the second not! And apologies if I'm teaching granny to suck eggs!

I would agree wholeheartedly with that. In the past I've had some difficulty in getting parts for (pre-Swiss) vintage American watch makes. It's probably easier to get such parts if you live in the US (from Ofrei, etc.), but I recall having tremendous difficulties in getting hold of Hamilton 992 balance staffs - and buying 2 or 3 of them when I finally found a source! If you can live with your slightly out-of-kilter part, do so.

Perhaps the comma is in the wrong place...

I'm in a nostalgic mood today...

Nice one. I don't go in for making alberts myself. I have two 9ct gold ones - Victorian or Edwardian - with gold fobs - and a silver one with a silver fob. That's enough for me, but I always respect the skill of those who can made something themselves. Incidentally, none of my pocket watches is key-wound, which saves a lot of bother! I've cut down my collection to about 6 railroad-grade American watches, all of which are crown wound (at the 12'o clock position) and lever-set. You can see my lot here: http://www.willswatchpages.com/pocket-watches.html

Being a Mod, there's no time limit for me on editing any posts on the Forum, but - as I recall - it's only about 2-3 minutes before the edit facility closes. There's a reason for the time limit on this sort of forum software - which is to prevent statements being altered. On other, more argumentative forums, this can be crucial. Luckily, we're not that kind of forum and, if we were, I and the other Mods would be wielding big sticks. This is a friendly and supportive site, for which I'm sure we're all grateful! However, the principle of letting original posts stand is a good one. If there's something which you obviously need to amend with hindsight, contact one of the Mods and we'll check and change it for you - at no extra cost!