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Pocketwatches for Victorian, Gold Rush, and Civil War Re-Enactors
J Rogers, MA
The
watch is the peak of Victorian precision technology, as the Railroad Engine
is the apex of our power technology. If you have a watch, it is a treasured
possession that you expect to have for a very long time and to pass on to your
heir. You probably spent a month's income or more on it, and took considerable
time to choose it. If you have a watch, you proclaim it by wearing chain and
perhaps a fob. You expect it to be noticed.
Do you need a watch? Do you need to carry it? You probably won't risk carrying your watch if you are planning strenuous activities. Perhaps you lost your watch gambling or were robbed of it. Maybe you have better things to spend your money on. Perhaps exact time is not really of importance to you. Portable sundials are much less expensive, should you find time of relevance.
Watches were individually made by groups of craftsmen until industrial methods were applied in 1850 by the founder of the Waltham Watch Company. With the introduction of standardization, prices fell to the point that only one month's wages was needed to purchase one.
Time zones won't be invented until the end of the century, so you set your watch by the sun, or to the city clock which was set by the sun.
You are proud of your watch and protect it carefully. You wind it each day and keep it in a watchstand when you aren't carrying it. This way you have a clock that your whole household can use. If you are from one of the smokey cities like New York or London you are used to protecting it in a dome from the dust and soot that foul everything so quickly.
You can surely tell a story about your watch. Did you buy it, inherit it, win it gambling, steal it, take it as security for a loan, find it in lost luggage, or get it from your sweetheart? Are there features that mean something important to you? Is the case decorated with designs that mean something special? Is the watch from your home town or region?
In 1850 you most likely have a key wound, key set, cylinder escapement watch in a solid metal case. In 1870 you might instead have a stem wound, stem set, lever escapement watch with compensated balance wheel, damasceened plates, and a gold-filled case.
Terms
Bow - The loop at the top of the open-face watch or on the side of the hunter case watch to which the watch chain is attached.
Damaskeening - decorative swirled marking on the watches plates.
Train
- the series of wheels that transfer power to the escapement. The first wheel
is the barrel wheel which contains the mainspring. It meshes with the Center
Wheel (also called the Second Wheel), to which the minute hand is attached.
Just under the dial, the center wheel drives a small gear that moves the hour
hand. The center wheel drives the third wheel. The third wheel drives the fourth
wheel, to which the seconds hand (if any) is attached. The fourth wheel meshes
with the escapement wheel to which the escapement meters the movement of the
balance wheel to precisely measure time.
Bridge - The wheels of the train are held in position by thin flat plates, the bridges. Bar bridges are small and, not suprisingly, bar shaped, in contrast to plate brides.
Escapement - The part of the watch that divides time into regular beats. A balance wheel with a regulated hairspring rotates back and forth at a precise 1/5th second interval. The escapement is a mechanism that uses the escapement's rhythm to turn the fifth wheel at exactly one revolution per minute. Types of escapement are verge, cylinder, and lever. See http://www.horologia.co.uk/index.html for details. The motion of the escapement makes the watch tick.
Cylinder escapement - The teeth of the fifth wheel directly engage a slot cut into the pinion of the balance staff to form the escapement. The balance wheel is nearly always uncompensated - appearing as a smooth circle rather than having compensating weights.
Balance
wheel - The wheel that moves back and forth, performing the function that
a pendulum does in a clock. A compensated balance wheel has a radial slit in
the rim to allow the two metals of the rim to expand and contract, thus adjusting
the watch for changing temperatures. In addition, it will have adjusting weights
all around the wheel that adjust for different positions of the watch. A compensated
balance wheel almost always means a lever escapement.
Regulator - A lever attached to the hairspring. Adjusting the regulator adds or removes tension from the hairspring, thus changing the period of the oscillation of the balance wheel. The indicator arm of the regulator points to a calibrated index on the balance bridge or one of the other bridges to assist the watchmaker in making the adjustments.
Jewels - The motion of the wheels, especially the balance wheel and the escapement wheel, eventually will wear the metal away from their pinions and the bearing holes in the bridges. By using saphires, diamonds, or rubies, the wear can be greatly reduced. Up to 21 jewels in a movement are functional, although occasionally more were added for looks or for sales purposes. A typical mid-grade cylinder movement will have 8 jewels ("huit rubis" or "four holes jeweled"), while a basic lever movement has 7, 9, or 11 jewels.
Dials
- in America, dials are made by kiln fusing finely ground white glass onto a
disk of copper. Powdered black glass is then stenciled onto the dial and fused
again at a lower temperature. Because of this process, a crack in the enamel
cannot be repaired. Enamel dials are not painted. Early dials and some English,
French, or Swiss dials are made of silver or gold with engraved or enameled
markings.
Repeater - Costing 5 to 50 times as much as a regular watch, a repeater has a mechanism to chime the time on command. The most complex let you tell time to within 5 minutes in total darkness. Most come from Switzerland, a country otherwise known mainly for cheap knock-offs of good British and American watches.
Lever Set - The watch is set by the stem only if a hidden lever on the side of the face is pulled out to engage the setting gears. This prevents accidental setting of the watch.
Railroad watches - Railroads were established in the 1830's. Trains relied on following timetables precicely in order to prevent accidents. By the 1880's railroads were issuing specific requirements for employee's watches. After 1893, there was a national standard for railroad watches, which was universally enforced by about 1900 "Size 18 or 16, have a minimum of 15 jewels, adjusted to 5 positions, keep time accurately to within a gain or loss of only 30 seconds a week, adjusted to temperatures of 34 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit, have a double roller, steel escapement wheel, lever set, micrometric regulator, winding stem at 12 o'clock, grade on back plate, use plain Arabic numbers printed black on a white dial, and have bold black hands." The railroad dial is very plain, with no fancy lettering or painting. Only open face cases were approved for railroad use. The total number of railroad watches produced were relatively small.
Ebauche
- A style of unfinished watch movement mass produced as a cottage industry in
Switzerland in the mid to late 1800's. The movements were sold to retailers
or jewelers who ''finished'' the watch by adding the dial, hands, case, jewels,
the escapement, etc. Quite often the name engraved on a European watch from
this period is that of the retailer or is a 'fake' name similar to a prestige
watchmaker. The movement almost never has a name engraved on it, but a brand
will be engraved on the back dust cover instead. Swiss watches are considered
distinctly second-rate mechanically, although they are often very pretty.
Size - Is numbered by movement size, not case size. An American size 10 (1.5 inches diameter) was suitable for either man or women, with larger sizes generally carried by men and smaller by women.
Case Styles
Hunter
Case - The watch case has a solid front cover, usually released by a catch
or by pressing the stem. The 12 on the dial will be 90 degrees from the bow.
The case allows the watch to be placed open on a nightstand or mantle when not
being carried.
Half-Hunter Case - A hunter case with a small round window of glass set into the center of the front cover. The hands can be seen through this window without opening the case. Usually early 20th century.
Open face - The watch face is covered by a clear glass cover, the crystal.
Case Materials
Gold
filled - Beginning 1859, cases are made from thin gold plates surrounding
a plate of base metal. Cases made before 1924 are often marked with a number
of years guarantee that indicates how thick the gold layer is, later cases are
marked 'gold filled'.
Silver - Usually coin silver, which is 800 fine (sometimes 900 fine in Britain). Some cases are sterling, which is 925 fine. Hallmarks will usually show country of origin. If British, hallmarks show assay office, maker, and year, as well as the walking lion mark which indicates sterling silver. More common as case material before 1849.
Gold - British gold is hallmarked if over 15K, gold may be unmarked depending on country. After 1849, gold became more commonly available. Only the US used 10K and commonly used 10K, 14K, 18K; Britain commonly used 9K (legalized in 1854), 15K, 18K. European cases are marked with fineness rather than karat marks - 750 is the equivalent of 18K, 375 is 9K, 625 is 15K. Much gold before 1906 was unmarked.
Dating guidelines
Beginning dates for American Watch Companies
Beginning dates English Watch Factories
Beginning dates European and English Makers
Escapements
More Information
A
Brief History of Precision Timekeeping
The watch Cabinet
- escapements etc
Barry Goldberg's
Watch Collection
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watch
http://www.nawcc.org/museum/nwcm/galleries/pocketwatch/pocketwatch.htm
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