Pass me some time!

[Vishnu Hs]

Other than wasting your time here,what do you guys,girls do to waste time!?

 

[gpobernardo]

Other than wasting your time here,what do you guys,girls do to waste time!?

Chess; piano; dismantle, clean and assemble vintage pocket watches; collect stamps, coins, bills and minerals; read; edit and organize photos; read and interpret weather charts; calligraphy; experiment on the effect of magnets on cognitive processes; ponder on the inner mechanisms of the mind; finish my Ph.D... just to name a few.

Spending time with my girlfriend, friends and family are not included, because I don't consider them as "wasting my time".

 

[Vishnu Hs]

Chess; piano; dismantle, clean and assemble vintage pocket watches; collect stamps, coins, bills and minerals; read; edit and organize photos; read and interpret weather charts; calligraphy; experiment on the effect of magnets on cognitive processes; ponder on the inner mechanisms of the mind; finish my Ph.D... just to name a few.

Spending time with my girlfriend, friends and family are not included, because I don't consider them as "wasting my time".

Woah that's a lot!

 

[Slovenix]

Thinking about new smartphones I can't yet afford is the biggest time wasting I do Lol so yeah..

 

[Vishnu Hs]

Thinking about new smartphones I can't yet afford is the biggest time wasting I do Lol so yeah..

Yep we all do that!

 

[k0de]

Writing some k0de on visual studio, or android studio. Walking my dog. Almost forget also watching the Knicks or NY Giants get clover.

 

[jmshub]

Sometimes I feel like my job is a waste of time! It seems like I'm always working on a computer, whether I'm at work or not. Besides that, I play keyboard in a rock band with some friends, and in the summer, I like to hike and mountain bike.

 

[Laura Knotek]

Chess; piano; dismantle, clean and assemble vintage pocket watches; collect stamps, coins, bills and minerals; read; edit and organize photos; read and interpret weather charts; calligraphy; experiment on the effect of magnets on cognitive processes; ponder on the inner mechanisms of the mind; finish my Ph.D... just to name a few.

Spending time with my girlfriend, friends and family are not included, because I don't consider them as "wasting my time".

Cool! I'm not a watchmaker, but I collect antique/vintage railroad standard pocket watches.




I also collect fountain pens, both vintage and modern.

 

[gpobernardo]

Cool! I'm not a watchmaker, but I collect antique/vintage railroad standard pocket watches.
View attachment 93290
View attachment 93291
View attachment 93292

I also collect fountain pens, both vintage and modern.
View attachment 93293

Nice collection there and pretty rare ones, too! I've never seen a Bunn Special and a Ball Watch Co. pocket watch (a Rail Road Pocket Watch at that!) in person yet since they're quite rare in my country, though I've got several Elgins. Am I correct that these three are lever-set? That should date them back to the late 1890s to early 1900s.

Here are a few from my vault:

Elgin, circa 1910.


Illinois Watch Co, circa 1911.
This particular watch has an interesting story. More of it below*, but to cut the story short, the man who sold it to me had a sister who worked for an elderly care facility as a nurse in the United States. One of her patients was an old (of course) man who didn't have a wife nor a son, and his relatives didn't visit him often. He gave the nurse this pocket watch "as a remembrance and a token of gratitude," and several weeks later he passed away. Now she knew her brother liked antique items, so she sent the watch to his brother together with the story behind it. Before selling it to me, he said that he took extreme care for the watch, keeping it in linen-lined box and not allowing anyone to touch it. He said that it was sad and painful to have to sell the watch, but the proceeds would be used to fund his son's college education anyway, and I assured him that his watch will be well taken cared of, being an antique collector myself.

I'm thinking that the elderly man was one of the founders of (or at least held an important position in) a certain "Feagan's and Co.". I did a bit of research on this company but I couldn't find any useful information about it. I had to match the movement design and serial number to identify it to be made by Illinois Watch Co. Maybe you could help me on this.


Seiko Lord Matic, 1977 (semi-hi-beat (28,800bph).
My once-in-a-while wrist watch.



"Solar Watch Co. 1865"
Actually one of the "budget" Elgin watches sold as "Solar Watch Co.", circa ~1898.


Waltham (couldn't remember the year, but the serial number and style suggest it's from 1890-1900s)

These photos were taken with an HTC T2222 2.0MP fixed focus camera... I'll post the L1020 version in time.:sweaty:

My Dad has a Rail Road pocket watch, but it's one of the later Elgins (1950s before the company closed).

As for fountain pens, I've only got three Parkers (two from my earlier years and are under $30 each so they're really not as collectible as a Mont Blanc) and a modest Parker Sonnet. I'm looking at getting myself a Mont Blanc or a Sheaffer (or a Waterman) in time and when funding permits. Which would you recommend? :angel:

*- I used to spend some time with a much older friend in his antique shop, helping him date, identify and appraise items that come into his shop. One of those days, a man approached us wanting to sell this watch. My friend gave it a quick look, but seeing it was an "unknown brand Feagan's and Co." and it looked "new" (clean movement, clean dial, clean blued hands) he turned him down. The man said that he was in need of urgent money and he was offering it for a certain price - but my friend was not interested. The cleanliness of the movement and the "swan neck" regulator caught my attention, so before the man could walk away I asked to have a look at the watch again. Everything looked right: the center wheel was solid gold, the guilloche, the gold jewel sets, the balance wheel was steady, and the gears where aligned... I just had to have it. I asked the man to tell me more about the watch (as written above). So, I arranged to buy the watch the following day (didn't have cash that day) as long as he gave me a bit of discount. As soon as I got it, I went home, took it apart, cleaned and oiled it, put it back, calibrated it... and now several years later it still ticks and keeps time as if it was taken out of the factory yesterday!

 

[Laura Knotek]

Nice collection there and pretty rare ones, too! I've never seen a Bunn Special and a Ball Watch Co. pocket watch (a Rail Road Pocket Watch at that!) in person yet since they're quite rare in my country, though I've got several Elgins. Am I correct that these three are lever-set? That should date them back to the late 1890s to early 1900s.

Here are a few from my vault:
View attachment 93296
Elgin, circa 1910.

View attachment 93297
Illinois Watch Co, circa 1911.

View attachment 93298
Seiko Lord Matic, 1977 (semi-hi-beat (28,800bph).

View attachment 93299
View attachment 93300
"Solar Watch Co. 1865"
(Actually one of the "budget" Elgin watches sold as "Solar Watch Co.", circa ~1898).

View attachment 93301
Waltham (couldn't remember the year, but the serial number and style suggest it's from 1890-1900s)

These photos were taken with an HTC T2222 2.0MP fixed focus camera... I'll post the L1020 version in time.:sweaty:

My Dad has a Rail Road pocket watch, but it's one of the later Elgins (1950s before the company closed).

As for fountain pens, I've only got three Parkers (two from my earlier years and are under $30 each so they're really not as collectible as a Mont Blanc) and a modest Parker Sonnet. I'm looking at getting myself a Mont Blanc or a Sheaffer (or a Waterman) in time and when funding permits. Which would you recommend? :angel:

You are correct about my watches being lever set. A watch needed to be lever set, open face, Arabic numbers on dial, adjusted to 5 positions, temperature and isochronism, 16 or 18 size, at least 21 jewels, American made to meet standards for American railroads. That Ball watch is ca 1903 and 18 size. The others are from the same decade and also 18 size. I have some newer watches that are 16 size including a Hamilton 950B and a Waltham Vanguard that are ca 1950s.

I like your Seiko! I never knew there were Japanese pocket watches. I know the Swiss watch companies made them.

If you are interested in vintage fountain pens, I recommend the Parker 51. It is an excellent pen and not too expensive, since many were made. Mont Blanc is really pricey, but I do not consider it worth the money. Parker, Sheaffer and Waterman pens are as good as Mont Blanc in terms of writing quality. The key is getting a good quality nib. Many nibs are stainless steel, but the best quality nibs are 14K or 18K gold.

 

[gpobernardo]

You are correct about my watches being lever set. A watch needed to be lever set, open face, Arabic numbers on dial, adjusted to 5 positions, temperature and isochronism, 16 or 18 size, at least 21 jewels, American made to meet standards for American railroads. That Ball watch is ca 1903 and 18 size. The others are from the same decade. I have some newer watches that are 16 size including a Hamilton 950B and a Waltham Vanguard that are ca 1950s.

I like your Seiko! I never knew there were Japanese pocket watches. I know the Swiss watch companies made them.

If you are interested in vintage fountain pens, I recommend the Parker 51. It is an excellent pen and not too expensive, since many were made. Mont Blanc is really pricey, but I do not consider it worth the money. Parker and Waterman pens are as good as Mont Blanc in terms of writing quality.

Thanks for the tips! Good thing I held back a bit on the Mont Blancs. I've checked the link to the Parker51 and I remember having it in my collection. My grandmother gave it to me when I was a lot younger, when I didn't care much about names and model numbers just "as long as it is a fountain pen!" Looks like I've got the Aerometric variant.

I've updated my post with a few more details about the watches. Seiko had vintage pocket watches (this surprised me, too!), but the one in the photo is a wrist watch (it's on my wrist now, actually). Too bad it wasn't as well-maintained as I hoped it to be, but as a 28,800bph watch it's pretty precise, gaining or losing at most two or three seconds per day.

 

[Laura Knotek]

That's my ca 1928 Illinois Bunn Special 23 Jewel watch.

 

[Laura Knotek]

I also have some vintage fobs.


Fobs were basically pieces of jewellery almost like charms on charm bracelets nowadays. Some watch chains were designed for adding a fob.


The first fob is from the Knights of Columbus Lodge. All of the others are from the railroad unions: Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen, Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen.

 

[gpobernardo]

Looks like I've got some prep-research to do on fobs. The "Feagans and Co" pocket watch came with a fob, but the chain was no longer original... and the fob is not as ornate as those in your photos (I'm not even sure if it's a fob since it looks like a simple gold button). I guess in the not-so-mainstream and "hidden" market of pocket watches in my country, fobs and chains are usually "dismembered" from the watches and end up sold separately for more profit and for the gold.

 

[Laura Knotek]

Looks like I've got some prep-research to do on fobs. The "Feagans and Co" pocket watch came with a fob, but the chain was no longer original... and the fob is not as ornate as those in your photos (I'm not even sure if it's a fob since it looks like a simple gold button). I guess in the not-so-mainstream and "hidden" market of pocket watches in my country, fobs and chains are usually "dismembered" from the watches and end up sold separately for more profit and for the gold.

That is a fob. They came in all kinds of styles.

Chains weren't sold with watches. Those were sold separately, as were fobs.

A dress watch has a better chance of being in a fancier and better quality case than a railroad standard watch. The railroad workers needed their watches for their jobs, but those jobs were dirty and harsh being in cabs of steam locomotives and in railyards. So they got top of the line movements but often got steel or gold filled cases.

An office worker might have gotten a watch with a less precise movement but a solid gold case.

You're right about many original cases being sold for the gold. It's a problem here in the USA too.

 

[Laura Knotek]

This item is also considered a fob. It is a modern reproduction, not a vintage item.

Sent from my Nokia Lumia 920 via Tapatalk

 

[Laura Knotek]

The watch attaches to the leather strap opposite the fob and the fob hangs out of the watch pocket of jeans.
Sent from my Nokia Lumia 920 via Tapatalk

 

[Laura Knotek]

Here's how it looks.

Sent from my Nokia Lumia 920 via Tapatalk

 

[gpobernardo]

I see... I've always thought that fobs were always fancy. :sweaty:

Thanks for the info and the conversation, Laura. I'm looking at expanding my collection (of watches, that is), when time and funds permits. When that happens, I'll post more photos of them here.