I have a pocketwatch I received from my brother. It is American Waltham pocket watchm, size 18. It may have been made in 1898, and he was told it was a railroad watch. Your comments about it would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks in advance.

- Paul Miller

you'll need to unscrew the back and post a picture of the movement to determine if it's RR grade though with your ultra spectacular dial I suspect not, as the vast majority of RR dials were white with black lettering. I'm almost sure that yours is an O'Hara dial,very scarce and desirable

ohmigod! More pic's please!

I agree this looks to be a O hara dial but it surely is not a rr grade watch which may not be all bad!!

Note also that it is a sidewinder, indicating it is a hunter movement which would also preclude it from being a RR watch. Beautiful dial!

might be a 21 jewel 5 adjustment -railroad grade but not railroad approved ,though far more likely a 7 jewel

Great dial! Would like to see more.....

Just curious, but did your brother just buy that from eBay? There was a watch absolutely exactly like that the day before yesterday on eBay. I almost bid on it myself. What a strange coincidence.

Regards

Bud



I have a pocketwatch I received from my brother.

I'm with Tom - the majority of fancy dials front low-end movements.

I agree with Tom and Eric regarding the fancy dials, however, it ain't always the case as with my Elgin BWR....but more cases than not the fancy dials are on 7 - 11 jewel movements....

It would be interesting to have a look at the movement on Paul's watch....


Regards,

Jerry

Here is a picture of the movement. It is 15 jewels. It is my dad's watch, and my brother thinks he may have bought it in the 1930s. (I think he may have won it in a poker game!) The gold plating on the back has been worn through to the brass case. The inside of the back case read "Fahys, Montaux, Guaranteed 20 years." The serial number of the movement is 6350247, which puts it to 1893. Thanks for all of your comments.

And here is a picture of the back of the case.

As a heirloomed treasure, it is a great watch !!

As to evaluating it, it will depend on whether the dial is signed on the back by the dial maker.

This type of porcelain dial is extremely fragile, almost like an eggshell. I caution you to remove the hands super carefully and to REMOVE the dial screws completely before the disassemble.

IMHO I think it would be great to find a real nice H/C to put it in and to find out if it's in fact a signed dial. I don't believe that would take away from the memories of your father that it once belonged to. It would only heighten the emotions knowing that I had put it back in it's original configuration and could be truly appreciated for a daily or occasional carry watch. Every time I pulled it out, it would memorialize those fonder times when "family" was king ..........

regards,
bb

I saw the same or very similar dial on ebay the other day and Buster is right, be careful taking it off but do check the back to see if it is an Ohara. Not really railroad but a family heirloom is even better! Best wishes and do consider carrying it, at least on Sundays!

If the dial is as delicate as Buster suggests, why even take a chance doing it yourself? Perhaps sending the watch to a watchmaker like Chris Able for a coa is a better idea.