Waltham 18 Size 14kt. US Assay Fancy Hunter Case Pocket Watch.

These fancy hunter case pocket watches are very rare items.  It has been estimated that very few of these have survived as many of them over the years have been melted down and sold for scrap metal values.

This amazing case uses multi-colored gold.  Note the detail of the horse along with the flowers around the horse.  The outer edge of the case is highly engraved.

The eye of the horse also has a small diamond that has been bead set into it.  There are three covers on this case.  There is one cover that goes directly over the movement which is designed to help keep the dust out of the movement.

This watch has a double sunk dial that is made out of porcelain.  Notice the delicate hands.  This dial is unique as it also has the "military" time marked on the dial below the Roman numerals.  This watch is lever set.  The lever is located towards the bottom of the picture.

This picture shows the Karat gold markings of the case.  It reads that it is Warranted 14K U. S. Assay.  Below the markings is the case serial number which really means nothing.  Case records were never maintained by case companies.

This view shows the 18 size Appleton, Tracy and Co. movement that was made by Waltham.  This is a 15 jewel movement that features a Safety Pinion which protects the gear train in the event the mainspring breaks.  This movement is also Adjusted.

For More Information About Pocket Watches Visit Our Gallery of Time.

Howard 16 Size RailRoad Chronometer Series 11. Mainspring Info. Listed Also.

The Howard 21 Jewel RailRoad Chronometer is a very nice pocket watch. These were actually made by the Keystone Howard Co.

The dial on this watch is a true Montgomery style dial which has the minutes numbered around the outer chapter of the porcelain dial.

These dials are rather unique as they snap onto the movement.  There are no dial legs that hold the dial in place.

This shows the back of the Howard snap-on dial.  You can see the lip that snaps onto the movement.

This shows the dial side of the Howard movement.  You can also see the setting mechanism.  The hour wheel has been removed.

This view shows the upper plates of the movement with all of the RailRoad markings.  These movements are very simple where one plate mounts over the pivots of the gear train.  These watches are adjusted to 5 positions.

Here you can see the RailRoad markings.  This Howard has a unique serial number for those that like that sort of thing as I do.

There is only one minor flaw in the construction of these watches.  This is the click that engages the ratchet wheel when the watch is being wound.  This is a long flat spring that is mounted with one screw that is on the side of the movement.  This click fits between the top of the mainspring barrel and the ratchet wheel.  Many times this will slip out of position.  When this happens it can prevent the mainspring barrel from turning which stops the movement due to lack of power.

For the most part, these are really nice pocket watches that function very well and keep very good time.  These watches use an HR white alloy mainspring.  The HR number is SA-353.  The Howard factory mainspring number is 329 and it has the TEE end.

For More Information on Pocket Watches Visit Our Web Site.

Lord Elgin New Way To Tell Time.

These watches were made in about 1959 by Elgin.  They were sold under the Lord Elgin name.  They were advertised as "The Modern Way To Tell Time."  The movement has two disks that are made of plastic and painted with the numbers.  At some point in time someone tried to remove the minute disk and it was damaged and then glued into position.

The movement has 21 jewels and is adjusted.

Case is gold filled and has a thick plastic crystal over the date wheels.

The inside of the case has two spacers or rings that hold the movement in place.  One is shown in this picture.

This shows the movement installed into the case.  The second retainer ring is shown around the movement and the crown is now installed.

Here you can see the two date wheels through the plastic window or crystal.

Another view of the watch with the date wheels showing.

For more information about Elgin watches visit our web site.

http://www.horologist.com/

Rolex 3035 Dial Refinishing With Diamonds Added.

This Rolex dial was damaged with rust.  The dial is from a 3035 movement that arrived at our shop for repair.  This dial originally did not have any diamonds and had the regular stick style markers.

We replaced the stick markers with diamonds.

This is the original rust damaged Rolex dial.

Another view of the rust damaged dial with the original stick markers.

This is the "New" refinished Rolex 3035 men's dial.

Another view of the dial after the diamonds have been added.  Note the professional lettering as well as the Swiss Made markings at the bottom of the dial.

Rolex Oyster Perpetual DateJust, Superlative Chronometer, Officially Certified, Swiss Made.

Note the date window on the dial as it looks now compared to how it looked in the first two pictures when it was filled with rust.

Antique Time Professional Rolex Dial Refinishing.

Our professional dial refinishing service is very affordable as well as the addition of adding diamonds and other precious stones to existing Rolex dials.

Call us Toll Free at 1-888-ROLEX-01

Rolex Yacht Master Mid-Size With Custom MOP Dial.

This Rolex mid-size Yacht Master is powered by the typical ladies 2030 Movement.  The movement fits into a retainer that is the right size for this case.  These are nice watches with the only drawback being the ladies movement which might not be durable enough when worn by men.

This watch had the typical silver colored dial.  At the request of our client we installed Mother-of-Pearl and added genuine emeralds to each of the markers.  All of the lettering on the dial was done to the original colors and specfications.

The original dial surface was machined down in order to apply the new MOP base.

By machining the surface of the dial down allows for proper hand clearance on the dial as well as allowing for the hands to clear the markers.

When the dial is ready to be installed it is important to check to make sure that the dial correctly snaps onto the movement.  There are two small slots that are cut into the side of the dial where it fits over the movement.  If the dial is loose you can adjust the fit by slightly pressing the lower portion of these two slots inward.  By doing so, the dial will snap onto the movement.   There are NO dial legs that hold the dial to the movement, so correct adjust for fit is important.

This is the new MOP dial installed onto the movement.  The hands have been adjusted for correct fit and set so that the date changes at midnight.

For more information about our custom Rolex dials please visit our web site.

Antique Time Dial Refinishing.

Rolex Cushion Style Watches With Movement Reference 59 or FF30.

The Rolex Canadian market Oyster watches date back to the late 1930s and are some of the most affordable vintage Rolex watches available on the used watch market today.

They differ from Swiss marketed Rolexs in that they used a Rolex modified ebauche movement made by Fontmelon, their caliber FF30 subsequently renamed the Rolex caliber 59. The movements were stamped Rolex Geneve on the top plate and were not engraved or stamped Rolex on the bridge. On some variations of the movement, the bridges were engraved with the name Oyster Watch Ltd.

The Rolex Canadian Oysters used a Rolex Oyster watch case with a Rolex Oyster Patent crown.

The various models marketed included names such as Oyster Centregraph, Oyster Lipton, Oyster Junior Sport, Oyster Raleigh, Oyster Commander, Oyster Recorda, Oyster Edison, Oyster Grenfell, Oyster Standard and Oyster Shipmate. These watches were most frequently sold in gold-filled and stainless steel Oyster cases.

These watches are frequently seen with 24-hour military dials and as such, many were given as gifts to soldiers departing for active service in Europe during World War 2. Many of the watches returning to Canada came back with the servicemans registration numbers engraved on the rear of the case back.

Another variation of the Canadian Oysters were Rolex models sold by the famous former Canadian icon department store Eatons. The watches were renamed, as Solar Aquas or King of Wings and the name Rolex or Oyster were never visible on the watch dials. Eatons also has a particular arrangement with Rolex which allowed them to provide as long service awards, a Rolex watch that only had the words:

1/4 C E N T U R Y C L U B
spelled out on the dial, which was simply signed Eaton's. There was no mention of Rolex or Rolex Oyster on the dial's of the Eaton's 1/4 Century Rolex watches. Some of these watches were manual wind Rolex Oyster or automatic Oyster Perpetual models. Earlier watches given out in the 30's through to the 1950's, were famed Rolex Prince models. Women were given a unique Rolex model as their 1/4 Century watch.

The other variation of the Canadian Oyster isnt actually Canadian, but American. The American retailer Zell Brothers sold Canadian Oysters under their store name Zell Brothers and the model name Turtle Timer, These watches usually had the movements marked Oyster Watch Ltd. And are highly sought after today.

Water Damaged Rolex DateJust 3035 Movement.

This men's Rolex DateJust was damaged by sea water.  The crown gasket and case tube gasket failed.  It is amazing how much water got into the case which caused very extensive damage.

This picture shows the damage to the movement when the case back was removed.

After the movement was removed from the case and the oscillating weight was removed it was noted that both reverser gears as well as the large brass winding wheel were all damaged, all needed to be replaced.

It was interesting to note that with all of the water damage the balance wheel was untouched by the water.

This picture shows the amount of water that got under the plastic crystal.  The dial is now in the process of being refinished to its original condition.

The date ring was also damaged and needed to be replaced.

Another view of the water damage under the crystal.

This shows the extensive damage that was done to the dial.

The total restoration of this Rolex is now well underway.  All damaged parts that need to be replaced are in stock and we are in the process of refinishing the dial to its original condition.  Each part of the movement has been removed and each part is being hand-cleaned of rust using fiberglass brushes.  After all of the rust is removed the movement and all of its parts will be cleaned using our automatic cleaning machines.  When this movement is completed it will be good as new and will again provide its owner with many more years of service.

For more information about our Rolex repair service please visit our web site at Horologist.com.