Hi all,
Just picked this today and was wondering if it is all there.
This is a Vanguard Mdl 1908 WI 23J.
I have not seen any with the moon hands nor the roman numerals. No extra case marks etc, so believe it is all okay !!
Any comments.
Thanks Bill

I would say that is a very unusual dial and hands, Bill, perhaps meant for the Canadian trade. I think the Roman numerals would keep it from being RR approved in the USA. Maybe someone can second that...or not. I'm sure it is a great addition to your watch stash!

Great dial, Bill! I've never seen a Roman WI dial.

not all that VERY nice he said,while chewing on his nails and mumbling under his breath

Thanks for the kind comments all. It seems to me that I saw here on this forum not that long ago, a dial on a Waltham like this, but I could not find it again. I think Dave A. posted it, but might be wrong, so maybe he will chime in.
I could hardly contain myself when I bought this and an Elgin 18s BWR at a garage sale, both working.
You just never know.
Bill

OK you heartless soul!! Stick the other knife in!!! What did you pay,$15 and $25 LOL. I went to a yard sale one day and picked up a 1976 Canada Olympics $5 coin, asked the lady what she wanted for it, she asked me to let her see it, looked it over including the huge lettered FIVE DOLLARS CANADA as the coin is twice the size of a silver dollar, and after reading both sides said $2.00 please

I have a couple of better pics of it.
The dial has H/L at 9 - 12, and I have since wiped the little stains off of it. It is cased in a Cdn Sturdy case, and appears to be original to the case. It also has a diamond end stone that just sparkles in the light, thinking about popping it out for a ring !! Yeah right.
If anyone can tell me production numbers, scarcity of the hands and dial, etc. would be appreciative.
Tom, Unlike the 5 dollar face value for 2 dollars, I couldn't have done that I would have only paid 1 dollar. LOL.
I did get a great deal on this watch and the other one, but I really do not want to gloat so will not disclose it here.
Bill

mvmt

Nice purchase Bill, the dial looks fairly scarce to me, I can't recall seeing too many others like it.

Larry

Bill-

Awesome finds! It's everyone's hopes to find watches like this on garage sales, etc. It just doesn't come up often at all. Keep the treasure hunting going!

Jared

Thanks for the comments everyone.
Larry, can you recall seeing any like it ?
I am still wondering where I saw a waltham dial like this without the WI, that was included in RR service.
Oh well it all makes this pick a little better knowing that the roman dial on this is quite scarce.
Is there any book or anything that would list the waltham hands and dial of a given era ?
Bill

You are one LUCKY man!! Great find!

You know its really been a good month or so at garage sales for me. Three weeks ago I bought a great all original 992 for $20.00, the guy stated that it was his dad's, this guy was in his 70's anyway, he wanted $5.00 for it, I said I could not do that and offered $25.00 just to ease my consionce, he said you're not much of a garage saler, I offer to sell at $5.00 you come back at $25.00, I'll give it to you for $20.00 and the deal was struck. I have decided I am going to gloat over the latest Waltham WI and the Elgin BWR of the last weekend, I got both of these for $250.00 the pair, and he was checking some other relatives for me, to see if they had any watches.
I have come to the conclusion that it must be my warm and friendly manner that I have achieved partially through here, this club I mean.
I am going to spend far more time at garage sales in the future, as there are not to many weeks left of weather for them here.
Good picking all,
Bill

Bill in my book I would care less about if it was approved for RR service and enjoy the fact that you have a watch that has a very unusual and appears to be very original Roman numeral dial and I tend to think the hands are correct also. I am not sure how rare or uncommon the 1908 WI's are but most common wind indicators are in the $800 area code and if you get to some of the rare ones like the free sprung Elgin 367 you are probably looking at a few more zero digits.

Thanks for your kind comments Claude,
I was not really interested in whether it was RR approved, I just really wanted to know where to list it in my own records. I'm really pleased with this watch no matter. Generally I just look at these and dream a bit, out of my price range.
Is there any way of telling how many 23j Van WI were produced ?
Thanks,
Bill

Some people keep databases so for some like Elgin about the best you can do is look at the total number of one grade that the person has recorded and then for that same grade look how many are WI movements and you can figure from a statistical point of view that from random sampling that this percentage would be close to the actual production. I would record it as RR approved since if the Canadian RR's allowed Roman numeral dials and moon hands, clearly I doubt that you could ever have US RR watch rules completely mesh with Canadian RR watch rules and since you are in Canada I would assume if you picked it up at a garage sale that it was not for US RR use. If you find some information on Canadian RR watch regulations it would be nice if you post them for some insight as to what was accepted. I did find 3 watches at a antique store and the prices were good so I have to go back and see if they are still there. I am not too sure how common/uncommon a 17J Waltham Crecent Street (1892 model) is but I have not seen too many of them.