Pocketwatches

[Trenchfriend]

Funny:
I have nearly the same model - also my grandpa's pocket watch - also still works - I'm wearing it right now

Mine has a stronger drift forward, when in the jeans pocket. When laying flat on the desk, there's very less drift.

 

[Mean Eyed Matt]

Mine doesn't run super accurate anymore:
It has a drift forward of about five minutes in 12 hours
- whether it's lying or in my pocket.

 

[Trenchfriend]

Man, a forward drift of just 47 seconds after four days (!) is very very good for a cheap, mechanical 20s movement! I think, the ruhla was very less used by my grandparents.

 

[Trenchfriend]

Yep, when fully wound, it drifts backwards two seconds per hour!

 

[viclip]

In terms of perspective:

- vintage American Rail Road Grade pocket watches were required to keep time within 30 seconds per week

- a modern Swiss "chronometer" is typically required to maintain time between the range of -4 and +6 seconds per day

American RRG & certified Swiss chronometers were/are expensive then & now. They were of course constructed in a manner such that their timekeeping could be fully adjusted, & they were designed to be readily maintained & repaired.

 

[Trenchfriend]

My ruhla GDR-era pocketwatch ist still running fine, I tell you! Always a joy to wind up.

 

[Artifex]

I don't know much about this watch, other than that it belonged to one of my ancestors. It's not very good! In fact, it has a grand total of no (0) jewels, and the stem has been lost. The case is blacked steel, and the dial is rust-stained paper. When I got it, it wouldn't go at all.

Despite that, I have had a lot of fun stripping it down, cleaning and reassembling the movement. With a little oil and regulation, it now gains only twenty minutes per day!

Has anyone else had a go at restoring junk watches? They may be useless, but what better way to learn the skills required to maintain the real beauties?

 

[Trenchfriend]

Fun (quartz)!

 

[milandro]

I became recently came aware of pocket watch conversions , they are really special things!

Does anyone know if there are any specialists in Europe?

 

[FOXTROT LAMONT]

Lovely, though there is something lost I dare this. A pocket timepiece, fob, chain with sartorial garb is match, set style.

 

[milandro]

I think these are a very nice possibility to repurpose watches that would be otherwise kept in a closet but professional conversions are so expensive that still wouldn't be sensible unless the pocket watch repurposed wasn't a very expensive one ( and few are).

A reasonable solution may be this for under €200

 

[The one from the North]

Picked this one from a second hand store. Nothing fancy but keeps time and didn't cost a fortune. Haven't looked in to it yet, according to seller from the 50's? The fob belonged to my father.

 

[viclip]

Nice daily carry from a well-known Swiss watch manufacturer.

I hope you have it serviced before putting it into daily sevice.

It may be possible to better date the watch if you provided a photo of the movement esp. if there is a serial number present. Collectors may be able to correlate any such SN with the date of manufacture; actually the movement itself may provide the answer if it was known to be used between so-and-so years.

 

[The one from the North]

Nice daily carry from a well-known Swiss watch manufacturer.

I hope you have it serviced before putting it into daily sevice.

It may be possible to better date the watch if you provided a photo of the movement esp. if there is a serial number present. Collectors may be able to correlate any such SN with the date of manufacture; actually the movement itself may provide the answer if it was known to be used between so-and-so years.

Thank's I'll look into it. Or better yet, my brother is a watchmaker, I'll let him look into it!