PLEASE help me identify this!

[exoticisabella]

I picked up this BEAUTIUFL pocket watch from a pawn shop after work for my dad (he collects them). But, I haven''t been able to find another like it to identify it

Here are TONS of photos and the stamps are as follows...

Nothing on the outside of the first cover
"Elgin" on the outside of the dust cover
Warrented 20 years and 3946527 on the inside of the dust cover
a.w.w co OR a.m.m co waltham, mass. ROYAL on the top of the movement
adjusted - inside the movement
7075092 on the movement
safety barrel on the movement
The hands on the face remind me of a shell in the way that they shimmer between deep green,blue,black,purple
The face itself is an antique color with antique gold accents....

And now for the photos - this might take a bit...

 

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p.s. photos were taken in bathroom lighting - not the best

 

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I LOVE LOVE LOVE this photo and will be submitting it for the calendar

 

[turboflgrl]

It''s gorgeous! Although I think this thread might be better suited in the "Timeless Classics" section.

 

[exoticisabella]

Date: 12/17/2009 11:14:25 PM
Author: turboflgrl
It''s gorgeous! Although I think this thread might be better suited in the ''Timeless Classics'' section.

I know, it just doesn''t get much traffic

I''m trying to find out as much as possible so that I can have a custom history sheet done in calligraphy to go with the case I''m buying for it. I probably won''t make it in time for Christmas but I''m going to try!

(it took me over a year to find one in perfect working order and physical condition that was older)

 

[turboflgrl]

Totally understandable - it will probably get more views here... and for good reason! I''ve always wanted a timepiece similar to this. Besides the beauty, the sheer "history" they exude is just lovely. Congrats on the find and I hope you figure out what it is!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Awesome watch!

 

[LGK]

The serial number on the movement indicates it's dated to 1894. The appearance substantiates that date. If it is gold plated it will not be marked with an assay mark most likely; if it is 14K or 18K it will be marked... somewhere. Look carefully with a loupe, a gold assay mark can be a tricky bugger to track down! Or check for wear to plating- that's a quick way to tell for sure it's plated, that you see base metal peeking out somewhere.

Royal is name of the model of watch I believe.

It is *not* a hunter watch- those have the stem at 3'clock, not 12.

Those lovely hands are blued steel. I love blued steel hands, they're purty

The face is porcelain.

Interestingly with a lot of pocket watches, they were made with either a very ornate engraved back (and cover if there is one- yours doesn't have one), and a plain face, OR vice versa (plain covers, ornate face). Lacking a pop open front cover, it's called an open face pocket watch.

It may well be a railroad watch; I don't know enough about pocket watches to tell you off hand myself- those are pretty special. The date is right, the look is right, and Waltham was one of the biggest produces of RR watches. They were crafted to be incredibly accurate- well, if they weren't there would have been some ugly trainwrecks! A RR watch has to have a minimum of 15 jewels, and size 16 or 18, a white face and black arabic (rather than roman) numerals and accurate to within 30 second per week. A size 16's movement measures 1 7/10 inches, a size 18 measures 1 20/30ths of an inch. A RR watch should say "5 positions adjusted" (or more than 5 possibly?) or something along those lines where you see the word adjusted on the movement; if it's 3 or something below 5, it's not a RR watch- they had to have at least 5.

Waltham & Elgin made the most RR watches. I am not seeing the Elgin mark on in your pics- the face says Waltham as does the movement? If indeed there's Elgin marked somewhere, you have a marriage- that is, somebody put bits of two watches together. Not uncommon in antiques. Does substantially affect the value though unfortunately.

Oh, I spose this is pretty obvious, but: running/functional watches are much more collectable than broken ones.

I'll update if I find out anything else for ya.

ETA: Here's one on ebay that has an 18K case and the same movement as yours (from what I can tell) : linky

Here's a link to the history of the Waltham co, if you want that info too: yetmoreinfo

Also- what does the back look like? Perfectly plain gold? Fine engraved lines? Fancy engraving? Just curious!

 

[LGK]

Wait, I just realized you may be saying the gold case itself says Elgin, not the porcelain dial. If that's so, it's not necessarily a marriage. If the dial and the movement are mismatched makers, though, *that's* what's not a good thing. The metal cases could be made by other companies than the movement/dial and that's normal.

Also the "warranted for 20 years" thing is a good indication it's plated, not solid gold. But you'd have probably noticed a 14K or 18K mark so that's not too surprising.

 

[exoticisabella]

The back is plain and it has the original fob. It says Elign on the back cover (the case area). The thing that I found interesting is that in all my searching I could not find another Waltham that had the seconds located at the 3 o''clock position instead of 6 o''clock. I''m pretty sure that it''s gold plated as the color on the back is muted but not worn too badly. I didn''t even think to get photos of the back and the fob until after my camera batters died!

 

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Had these two photos from last night...

 

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