Marketplace

Elgin Time Marketplace

Jeff Sexton

jsexton@elgintime.com

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Interested in Owning a Vintage Watch?

Antique pocketwatches are objects of great beauty and significance. They occupy a special place in the history of human technology, the understanding of time, mechanics and of industrial development, particularly in America.

Luckily, many antique pocketwatches are relatively common and affordable, which makes collecting pocketwatches an accessible and rewarding hobby.

Even today, many antique watches, properly cared for, can provide decades of faithful service. However if you are interested in buying an antique watch, and you are not already a collector, there are a few things to keep in mind. An antique pocketwatch is not at all like a modern quartz movement.

  • Antique watches are fully mechanical devices. They are very easily damaged by physical shocks.
  • Antique watches are not remotely water resistant, and are subject to damage due to temperature, salt air, even tiny amounts of dust, moisture and other environmental factors.
  • An antique pocketwatch in daily use requires regular maintenance, by a skilled watchmaker, to function correctly overtime. While these watches were once used everyday, but they typically received a complete overhaul every year.
  • Antique pocketwatches are not accurate by today's standards. A very good watch, cleaned and adjusted with care, can achieve an accuracy of +/- a minute or so per 24 hours. More accuracy than this will usually require significant efforts.
  • Always store an antique timepiece in a dry and dust-free environment. Plastic bags are not recommended as they trap moisture and condensation.

These items are available for purchase.

Click on the images below for more photos of these items. For watches, note the serial numbers and email me for more information.

"The release of atom power has changed everything except our way of thinking... the solution to this problem lies in the heart of mankind. If only I had known, I should have become a watchmaker."

- Albert Einstein

Learn about what was once one of the country's largest industrial concerns, and the special place in the history of American industrialization the watch company occupies.