Let's See Your Watches! The Vintage Watch Thread.

[sixties.nut]

Now where have I heard this before?

Need to move stuff out and not bring more in at this time. lol

He'll be back.lol

 

[Forgotten Man]

Ooops, you know, sorry about that last post guys, I thought I was in the thrift shop/yard sale page... lol

Great watches!!
-=R

 

[Shangas]

The Ball above is something to see isn't it. Better continue to take care of that one. Take it out once every week or two just to keep an eye on it. Plus, like our Fedora's (it's a chic magnet)

Hahaha!! Thanks, glad you like my Ball. I do take very good care of it. I take it out a lot more frequently than once a week, though, I can assure you! I use it every day! It's a beautiful watch and it keeps great time.

 

[jamespowers]

I got my two pocketwatches back from Paul's yesterday. I got my Elgin B.W. Raymond from the 1880s back along with my 17 jewel Illinois. I tried to get some pictures but the glare from the flash screwed up the pictures. I'll have to try again because the two-tone gold, lever set movement in the Illinois is pretty interesting. It has the HUGE arabic number and thick black hands. It might have been railroad grade at one period in time. The B. W. is just interesting because it is an earlier version. It might have been railroad grade before 1890. They both came back looking like new---aside from the obvious wear to the cases from age.
While I was down there, I stopped at an antique store and picked up a rose gold Bulova, regular Bulova, a running Timex for my son and a running Elgin De Luxe all for about $50. Like I need more watches.:eusa_doh: Well, I left two of them off at Paul's for new stems and crowns. Here we go again.

 

[sixties.nut]

see thats why I came here.

Every time I clik a link on the watch site. The dang things multiply like rabbits.

Good score on the Rose Bulova! Sounds interesting. God, I love old watches, almost as much as yonger wimin! lol

 

[jamespowers]

Every time I clik a link on the watch site. The dang things multiply like rabbits.

Good score on the Rose Bulova! Sounds interesting. God, I love old watches, almost as much as yonger wimin! lol

Yeah, with a matching rose gold band for $15 I couldn't resist.

 

[Shangas]

Hi James,

If you can, I'd love to see some photos of your pocket watches. I'm like...addicted to good pocket watches. On that note, here's a little artsy photograph I took of my railroad chronometer:

Everything in that photo is either vintage or reproduction.

The gold pens are 1922 (bottom) and 1925 (top) gold-filled Wahl Art Deco fountain pens. The top one is a vest-pocket ringtop model, designed to be clipped to a watch-chain. The larger, bottom one is a regular, lever-fill fountain pen.

The watch is my ca. 1957-1960 Ball railroad pocket-watch. Wrapped around it is my vintage brass Albert watch-chain.

The piece of paper is a printout of a 1956 railroad pocket-watch time-inspection card. One of these had to be filled out each time a railroad watch was taken in for servicing (usually once every six months). I found it online and I printed it out and trimmed it down to size. I filled in all the details on the form (with a 1914 Conklin fountain pen) as a bit of a joke. I put down my occupation as 'conductor'. Hahahaha. Every boy's dream.

 

[Talbot]

Can you tell me anything about the Silvana? From your post I gathered it must not be that old. But according to my grandma, this Silvana is the watch that she saw her dad--my great grandfather-- wear forever. [huh]

Silvana watch: date of foundation as 1868. Minutes of the "Association Cantonale Bernoise de Fabricants d'Horlogerie" state that Silvana envolved from the split of the A. Reymond S.A., Tramelan. The Manufacture d'Horlogerie A. Reymond S.A. was founded in 1898. Therefore the first Silvana watches were made already in the 19th Century ... a quite remarkable fact which places Silvana among the oldest Swiss watch brands. The registration of the watch factory Silvana S.A. took place on 24 May 1923 in the Commercial Registry of Courtelary, domiciled in Tramelan. At that time the company employed approximately 70 people. In the same year the Silvana factory was admitted to the "Association Cantonale Bernoise des Fabricants d'Horlogerie" as an independent member. In 1929 Silvana merged with the traditional and then famous watch factory H. Gasser & Co. from Bienne and on 17 February 1931, Silvana S.A. moved their offices and production to Bienne. Until 1935, Silvana watches were produced at H. Gasser & Co. On 27 December 1935, Silvana transferred their activities back to their origins to the charming village of Tramelan in the Swiss Jura.Between 1936 and 1969, the watch factory Silvana S.A. developed continously and in the 1960's business expanded gradually and turnover increased year over year. Silvana's markets were not only restricted to Europe, Silvana products were very popular also in South America, in the Middle East and the Caribbean. Both the distribution and sales were organized out of the company's own offices in Bienne. Silvana was very successful with their lines of pocket watches during 1940 - 1970, with motifs such as "La Montre Paysan", "La Montre Chasseur" or the special edition "Chemin de Fer Turc" graved on the back of the watch. A special diving watch was very well sold in South America and the Caribbean during the 1960's. In 1969 the owner of the watch factory Silvana S.A. joined with an industrialist from Neuchâtel, who aready possessed the brands "Avia", "Helvetia" and "Fleurier Watch". This cooperation resulted in the firm Avia & Silvana S.A., which soon thereafter was integrated into the holding company of the Societe des Garde-Temps S.A. SGT, a conglomerate, which, besides owning various prestigious watch brands, ran subsidiaries in Switzerland and abroad and wrote turnovers of over 100 million Swiss Francs per year. In July of 1982, SGT sold the brand Silvana to a commercial firm in Bienne and on 27 February 1992, Silvana AG was founded and registered in the Commercial Registry of Zurich.

 

[Unlucky Berman]

@Shangas,

A really amazing pocket watch and the pens :eusa_clap Wished that I would not spend too much for watches and buy at least one good pen for it, but seeing a nice watch I just can't resist, so:


One of my newer pieces in the collection, the white gold filled Raleigh, plain made by Hamilton in 1931:

 

[jamespowers]

Hi James,

If you can, I'd love to see some photos of your pocket watches. I'm like...addicted to good pocket watches.

Ok, I got a few pictures. They aren't the best but something is wrong with my camera lens so here they go:

The movement of the Illinois with gold accents.

Marconi pocketwatch movement

The dial

BW Raymond dial

A few of my tank watches l to r Emerson, Bulova Excellency, Hamilton and a Gruen that barely made it into the picture.[huh]

A closer look at the Emerson. It has a very unusual reticulated dial.

 

[Shangas]

Stunning pocket watches, James! The Elgin BW Raymond looks great!

Do you wear any of your pocket watches?

 

[jamespowers]

Stunning pocket watches, James! The Elgin BW Raymond looks great!

Do you wear any of your pocket watches?

I wear them all at one time or another. I'll upload more pictures when photobucket quits timing out on me. :eusa_doh: [huh]

 

[davestlouis]

mechanical wristwatches

I have become more and more interested in 1930-60s era wristwatches, some handwound, some automatics. The labor that went into the movements in these watches just blows me away, the movements are mechanical art. I know that a modern quartz watch keeps better time and will be very reliable, but I'm drawn to older pieces. I seem to stumble on working watches for $20 or less, which make it a cheap hobby for me too...

Now if I could learn how to service and oil them I'd be all set.

 

[ScionPI2005]

I have a fascination with mechanical watches as well. I always figure if my current profession doesn't go over well, I'll take up watch repair and hat making.

 

[Lincsong]

I've had a Wittnauer watch for about 22 years. It was my Uncle's and when he died my Mom gave me a dresser valet he had with dozens of cufflinks and the watch was in the box. So I used it for about 12 years and about 10 years ago the stem and crown broke. So it sat on my nightstand on a valet. About two weeks ago I finally took it a watch repairman, he opened it up, gave it flick, saw the gears moving, said it would be $25 to put in a new stem. I last wore it this passed Sunday. When I checked the watch case yesterday it was still ticking and the time was only off by 1 minute. He told me that it was a good watch. There's no serial number on it so he estimated that it was probably made in 1947-1948 because in 1952 Wittnauer and Longines merged and the styles changed. It has a yellow crystal, I'll keep it because it maintains that vintage look. If I replaced it with a clear crystal it would look like a different timepiece.

 

[davestlouis]

My newest is a 1940s??? Benrus 21 Jewel piece, square with big fancy lugs, on a horrible looking Speidel expanding gold-filled bracelet...$8 at the local St Vincent dePaul store this morning. It's keeping good time so far.

I like the history of these items too...wish I had one or more that had belonged to relatives, like lincsong's.

 

[Lincsong]

Yeah, when I look at the Wittnauer I think of when I first got it in my freshman year in college, I wore it all through college and my various vagabond moves around the country until that stem broke. So not only does it bring memories of my Uncle it also reminds me of my college days. I don't know where my Uncle got it. Since it was made in 1947-1948 he was only 11 or 12 years old, so he probably didn't get it brand new. Maybe he won it in a card game or something?

I'm also impressed by how tiny it is compared to the new watches. I don't even have it in it's own slot in the watch case, I place it with another watch in the same slot. lol

 

[davestlouis]

That's a good point...size. My vintage watches are slim, and none is larger than about 36mm across. They fit under my cuff without getting hung up, and don't weigh much. My boss wears a huge, thick, clunky thing that must be 44mm across and gaudy as hell, and quartz on top of it. I think his is a Fossil, and he's very proud of it.

 

[Lincsong]

I've even seen girls with these huge watches. I comment; "wow, that's a big watch for such a little wrist". lol

 

[davestlouis]

At the opposite extreme I have a couple of 1930s-40s Gruen tanks that look really small on my 7.5 inch wrist, almost like a women's watch...I wear them anyway, not trying to impress anyone, I wear them for my own pleasure.