There are several variants of Ball watches with Brotherhood plugs and matching dials, some colored and some with black-only signatures. They are coveted among collectors and usually do well at auction.
Continue readingTwo-tone Illinois Bunn Special
One of the best two-tone full-plate patterns is the Model 6 Bunn Special from Illinois, IMO. There are several variants, and the gilding ring came in yellow or rose gold but the gilding seemed to be especially thin, sinc…
Continue readingElks Lodge Elgin Convertible
Elgin’s 16-size Model 1 was known as the Convertible because of the moveable winding pinion that allowed it to function as either open-face or hunter. Several grades had higher jewel counts and clip-on dials, which was u…
Continue readingRockford Model 1 SN 80
Very early surviving examples are rare and the smaller the numbers get, the more exciting they are to work on. A new customer from Rockford, Illinois sent in this two-digit Rockford Model 1, serial number 80.
Continue reading19-jewel Model 2 Dudley
The story of William Dudley is a fascinating one, a marvelous tribute to the creative energies of a man who decided to go solo by starting his own watch company just before his 70th birthday.
Continue readingThe Japanese Osaka Watch Co
The Osaka Watch Co was the final chapter in the Otay/San Jose/Osaka trilogy. After the failure of the first two ventures in California, the watch-making machinery originally purchased from American Tool was sold to the O…
Continue readingUsing a Pocket Watch Correctly
Pocket watches were designed and built during the glorious age of dedicated, purpose-built tooling, meaning that they did one thing and they did it very well. 12-in-1 multi-tools sold on infomercials were thankfully stil…
Continue readingThe Model 6 Rockford
Rockford saved some of their most interesting patterns for private labels and had a particular fondness for the square-on-round damaskeening, the only factory to do it in quantity. Their Model 6 was the predecessor to th…
Continue readingWaltham’s M92 Wind-Indicator
Waltham was one of only three companies to make 18-size wind-indicators. While Elgin and Rockford indicator hands simply coast to a stop in a circular seconds bit, Waltham’s Model 92 version limited the hand to a travel …
Continue readingSeth Thomas Model 12 Century
As collectors, we love unusual variants, like this 18-size Seth Thomas Century fronting a traffic-stopping green guilloche dial with gold numerals, and the unusual thing is that both are unmarked. It’s very common for Mo…
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