I made the rounds of my local antique shops today and for a grand total of $47, I picked up a nice 16s 21 Jewel Waltham Riverside. My first "Railroad" grade watch! I need to replace the dail (it's chipped at the 4 and the 11), but when wound, it started right up, and seems to be keeping time.
Regards, Joe Martin
Posts: 19 | Location: Salem, Oregon in the USA | Registered: August 07, 2007
I need to come up to salem. Every antique shop here in the San Diego sells them for 5 times the book value. Case in point. 7 jewel Elgin with ok case and dial, 400.00. Congrats on the RR find
Bruce Byrd
Posts: 888 | Location: San Diego, California USA | Registered: December 27, 2002
David, I'm still interested in that dial if it's available. Just let me know the details (condition, price, etc..) and I'll send off a money order to you.
Hi Joe, The Dial I have is a Single Sunk Factory "RR" type Arabic dial. I have only seen "Jewel count" displayed on bogus dials sold recently on eBay and some older vintage Swiss replacement dials. You are lucky as the "foot" position for early 16s Walthams are all the same but the picture shows their position by the black lines. This is a perfect dial and it is worth $50.00 to me
Posts: 6492 | Location: Southern California in the USA | Registered: July 19, 2007
Jewel count is included on some of the later factory dials, possibly even when Waltham was producing these 21j Riversides. Joe - what is the serial number on yours? I don't recall seeing David's dial on any railroad watches. This single-sunk dial is a very common Waltham dial for mid-grade movements (Bartlett, Royal, 620, 625, 635, etc.).
Posts: 1455 | Location: Los Angeles, California USA | Registered: January 14, 2003
Welcome aboard, you can go shopping for me anytime!
About the dials, frankly I would hesitate in changing the dial you have, consider posting an image of your dial along with the movement number for clarification. Possibly a thorough but careful cleaning and a bit of touching up would do the trick. Move slowly, a less than perfect original dial is not necessarily a bad thing.
I do agree with Jerry about the Waltham dial designs. In the image below you will see number 27128969 sporting its original fully-marked porcelain-enamel dial. From the 1920s through to the end of production in the 1950s Waltham used markings like these on their higher grade 21 and 23-Jewel movements.
Waltham Vanguard 23-Jewels on the original porcelain dial...
Posts: 10553 | Location: Northeastern Ohio in the USA | Registered: November 19, 2002
Serial number is 29240882 which I believe dates it to 1937. Sorry, but I don't have any pics. The chips are from 17-20 and from 55-57 (by the lever). There's also a very small one by the 40/8, but it's really so minor I wouldn't worry about it.
Regards, Joe Martin
Posts: 19 | Location: Salem, Oregon in the USA | Registered: August 07, 2007
Mine is very similar to that one. The numbers look like the same style, except that mine doesn't have the minutes around it. Also, mine doesn't have the "6" in the sunk portion, and it doesn't have the black circle along the inside. Also does not say "Premier".
Regards, Joe Martin
Posts: 19 | Location: Salem, Oregon in the USA | Registered: August 07, 2007
I pulled out a couple higher Jewel count Walthams, and "eat my words". Of these, two show Jewel count on the Dial. I personally prefer the 23 Jewel Vanguard in the middle though which does not "advertise" such an assiduous over-jeweling. btw, Joe thank you for the private e-mail, my "new" old dial went on a very fine 1899 Swing Case Riverside this afternoon.
Posts: 6492 | Location: Southern California in the USA | Registered: July 19, 2007
Not a problem, David. I think I may have found a nice Montgomery dial that I may use on it. Though not "original", it's a lot like the one shown above, except that it doesn't say "premier" on it.
Regards, Joe Martin
Posts: 19 | Location: Salem, Oregon in the USA | Registered: August 07, 2007
