Hi All, I am a newbie to the site and pocket watches for that matter so would appreciate as much help as possible to gain some history to my grandfather's watch. The mechanism is inscribed Glaskie, Manchester I think the initial is S or F and has the serial No. 77940. The case is silver (I think) and has the following marks: sword, what look like 3 mushrooms and a lion, the same serial No. as the mechanism is underneath these symbols and then S.Y 9 under this. The mechanism is wound by a key which is also used to adjust the hands.

I will post some photos after I have re-taken them, the ones I took earlier are to big to "post"

Hi Paul

Welcome to the club, once photos are posted we might could give you some information. I have started to research the name Glaskie but with photos it might help pin down a time frame in Manchester.

Also closeups of the markings inside the case back may help date the case & watch.

I look forward to seeing the photos. You might check out the tips on how to post your photos;
https://ihc185.infopop.cc/eve/f...s/a/frm/f/7356029761

Welcome again!

Tom

Hi Paul, Welcome to IHC 185.

As Tom has said, please post some photo's when you've cracked how to reduce them.
If any problems, just mail me the pic's and I'll upload them for you.

From what you've described of the hallmarks, they sound like Sterling Silver for Chester.
Not sure about the sword though!

Until we see photo's, the movement could be anything, as key winds covered Verge, Fusee English levers, Swiss cylinder & Swiss lever types, it could be anything in there.

Best regards

John

watch face

Inner case

Hi all I hope the photos help, sorry for the delay in getting them posted.

Hi Paul

Your case marks tell that it is British made;
1. by the lion that the case is made of sterling .925 silver
2. The location is Chester, the shield symbol with the mushrooms & the sword (I don't know what the symbols actually represent)
3. The letter "O" represents the year, I think it might be 1897 but I could be mistaken I have trouble telling one year from the other.

John is better at determining the year than I am, I believe he will answer shortly.

From the dial it appears you have a nice center seconds chronograph. Is that also a sterling Albert chain attached?

Looks like a very nice watch to me.

Tom

Hi Tom thanks for that very quick reply, yes the watch has a very heavy silver chain attached, it has the initials M.A & S and the symbols lion and an M on it, each link is marked in the same way.
Hopefully John can throw some light on the name Glaskie.
Forgive my ignorance but i assume "Albert" is a particular type of chain?

Just "Googled" Albert Chain, I know what one is now and feel slightly stupid for asking!

Hi Paul

Don't feel stupid about "Albert", I never have looked to see why it is called that, I have just heard that name used over the years.

John will be able to tell you a lot more about your watch, I do mostly name research but John is in the UK and an expert at these watches!

Once we hear from him & get a better idea about the year of the watch I will do some more searching for Glaskie. So far I am not locating a watchmaker by that name in Manchester.

In 1895 I find two Glaskie listed, Abraham, shopkeeper, 19 Vernon St. & Harris, baker.

Tom

We'd better correct the 'Mushroom' analogy before the good folks of Chester come after us with that sword
They actually represent sheaves of wheat.

I'll go along with Tom for 1897 too, and for Sterling Silver.
I can't read the maker's mark right at the bottom of the dome, otherwise I might have been able to tell you who made the case and when the mark was registered - which often helps back up the assay date mark.

The movement is an English lever type, which will have a dummy barrel next to the mainspring barrel.

The key square next to the balance will be for setting the hands, and that next to it to wind the mainspring.
There is another arbor further around the back plate which is for a dummy barrel, and takes the form of a geared wheel meshed into the mainspring barrel under the key square - this dummy barrel drives the centre wheel and the train.

Because these movements have a centre seconds hand, which means no key square on the cannon pinion, the gear train arrangement has to be set out differently to accommodate the back setting facility.

I'll try get a couple of photo's done to show the arrangement.

It's a bit better than your average English Lever of this type, being jewelled to the centre wheel. Often you'll find screw set jewelling on these only as far as the third wheel (next to the centre).

It has a a cut Bi-Metallic compensation balance and timing screws, a flat spiral rather than an overcoil hairspring, and a sidelever escapement, so will probably have a counter-poised lever with steel pallets and ruby jewel slips.

The escape wheel has a 'ratchet tooth' form, which all English lever types use, and the principal way to identify the escapement.

There should be a small button on the side of the case towards the pendant, which if working ok, will slide a short distance - but could be jammed up with crud!

This button should move a piece of wire (via a bell crank lever), against the roller on the balance, (but often hits the staff instead) which when applied, stops the watch - and hence the seconds hand, so it's a form of stop watch.
Great idea, but the downside is, the timekeeping of the watch gets scuppered in the process.

Often that wire breaks, or the lever, and other bits break and drop off, or otherwise get mutilated, but with a bit of luck yours could be intact and working.

It'll be a nice piece when cleaned up and serviced!

John

Cheers John loads of good info to try and get my head around. First of all sorry Chester! I'm assuming the makers mark is underneath the serial No? If so it's S.Y. The "stop watch" button does actually work but I see what you mean about the time keeping going adrift when applied!!

Any idea who this Glaskie fella is?

John

Thanks for the info, I will have to take a look at one of mine, it has two barrels & I have never had it apart but it didn't seem like the barrel actually wound, so perhaps it is one like you described. I learned something new today!

My apologies to the folks of Chester too! I couldn't think what those represented, I really didn't figure they were mushrooms but that was all I could think of.

Paul
I am still trying to track down your Glaskie, I will let you know if I have any luck.

Tom

I wouldn't fret over it Tom, Chester assay office closed decades ago, and those sheaves do have a passing resemblance to mushrooms

I couldn't find Glaskie either, and checked Baillies, both Loomes books and one or two others I have.

BTW, just to add to the confusion, forgot to mention that fusee's have a similar layout ......
Best way to tell is pull the movement out the case and look for a chain, although this watch is getting a bit late for a fusee!

John

Yeah, the one I have isn't a fusee, if I remember correct it is also from around 1900.

Tom

I am not having any luck with a Glaskie in Manchester that was a watchmaker.

Now to me the first initial on the movement looks like a "L" but I could be wrong.

In the 1890's & early 1900's the Glaskie family I find living in Manchester is the Harris Glaskie family. Harris was a shop keeper grocer. His wife Sarah is listed as an assistant. They have a 28 year old son Louis who is not listed as having an occupation (could this be him?), then they have a 21 year old son Morris also with no occupation listed, a 20 year old son Elie listed as a News or Rews Collector & last a 16 year old son Reuben listed as grocer's assistant.

Tom

I thought maybe I could find Louis listed in a later census showing his occupation but it appears he died in 1922 & I can't find him after 1901 to his death.

This one might be a dead end for me, I hate to admit defeat but I am stuck.

Tom

Tom & John

Thank you both so much for your time and effort on both of my posts, getting some background is fantastic. Just to add some more confusion (or maybe not) my dad had the watch repaired about 40 years ago and he's positive that a chain had snapped and it was soldered back together? I don't suppose the name Glaskie could have been a previous owner rather than maker? Is it common to come across unknown watch makers?

Also meant to add that I looked up the case makers mark S.Y and came up with the following Samuel Yeomans 1884..1906
(registered c1886)Case maker, Spon Street, Coventry would you agree?

Always a pleasure to help Paul.
I'd say Yeomans is your man too, I've got him recorded over several years, the latest being 1914.

The chain that was repaired could have been for fusee work, or maybe the 'Albert'.
The links on a heavily used watch get badly worn where they loop into each other.

One way you can tell a fusee is from winding it.
When fully wound, the key will stop solid as if the winder has hit an obstruction - it has, the stopwork on the cone.
If it feels a bit 'springy' when fully wound - as if it might go further, it'll be a 'going barrel' type, and will have a dummy barrel in there.

It's very common to come across unrecorded watchmakers.
Brian Loomes' 'Watchmakers of the World Vol 3', his latest volume, is hugely thicker than than Vol 2 because of further information being found.

There must be thousands of watch and clock makers gone to their graves over the years, that we'll never know about.
Sometimes too, a retailer would inscribe a movement with their name, and even owners could have done the same if the plates were blank.
All it needed was a good engraver, and there would have been plenty of those around in Glaskie's day.

John

I've been coming to your great site for sometime now.Enjoy all of it so much,I joined the club on a yearly basis yesterday as I'm 71 years old and probably shouldn't waste my money on a "Lifetime" membership.LOL.Anyway,just wanted to say I have several watches with this same type movement and I understand they are called"Reversing Pinion movements.

Welcome to the club Norman, glad to have you here!

Tom