I just received my very own Home Watch Co., model 1857. I was happy to find that all of the train wheels and plate jewels were okay but displeased with some of the older "repairs" as noted on the slide.

I believe this watch would have run okay with a clean and lube job but someone just had to pull the balance wheel out without an iota of what they were doing. Also, an old botchmaker from long, long ago didn't have the time or expertise to repair the screw holes and staked the lower balance jewels.

During a staff replacement, someone didn't cut the hub back far enough to give the wheel adequate running clearance. To fix that, they cut away part of the balance cock. I ran into a similar problem with Glyn's 1857 and by cutting the staff hub back I was able to achieve adequate clearance.

Finally, someone installed a round roller jewel instead of a half-moon shaped jewel. Also, the pallet fork opening is .48mm and the jewel is .44mm. The jewel should be a little closer to .46mm. This may create too much side shake and reduce the performance of the escapement. I'm not sure how much the round jewel will affect performance.

I thought this post would be of interest to anyone who owns or plans to own one of America's first mass produced watches.