I'm a little turned off with pocket watch purchases these days as a result of info. from a local chapter member concerning my last purchase.

Seems the case is not original to the watch. It looks like one screw mark on the case. Chapter member said he thought the case was a re-plate as well. He also said the dial is metal and made ten or eleven years ago. I do not have access to removing the dial. I'm not sure the hands are correct either. I cannot tell if diamond end jewel.

I prefer purchasing an original watch case, original dial and hands etc. etc. I'm a purist at heart, what can I say. One of those spontaneous purchases and most probably my last for quite a while.

I'd like your honest input.

Vanguard
23 jewels
Alert watch case
Serial # 10560085
c. 1901

Movement

Case

Stephanie,

IMHO, what all comes down to is KNOWLEDGE. By the sound of it, you now know quite a bit more about this watch than you knew when you purchased it.

It would be nice if all the watch sellers of the world offered nothing but nice, original watches the way we all like to find them.

Unfortunately, the watch world doesn't work that way. Those nice original watches ARE out there, but they aren't going to find their way into your collection by themselves.

You have to do your homework to forearm yourself with as much knowldege as you can before entering the arena, and then pick and choose among the available options to get the kind of watch you really want for your collection.

That's what's so nice about Internet Horology Chapter 185, no matter what kind of watch you are considering, chances are there's a knowledgeable collector of that kind of watch among out members who will be willing to help, go look at an eBay auction with you and give an opinion, whatever.

There is also a wealth of knowledge on all kinds of watches that can be revealed with a simple IHC website search.

I pass give my opinion of this particular watch but I think that all the guys that we count for expers have paid there lessons for knowledge many many times. As long there isn´t so much money involved it can be quite ok. There is always something to get out of it.

To reach higher ground I think it´s important not to stop buy watches that I examine as a nice one. Learning by doing as we say.

When I meet a fellow watch collector I like to see an hold the ones that is fake or wrong in other ways, just to learn anything from it. Sometimes I (by misstake) buy those ones but it happens more and more seldom,...I hope.
/Bernhard

Thanks guys for your expertise!