Canadian conundrum
So off the bat I should say that this could well prove to be a frankenwatch - I’ll certainly update when I get the answer.
I have had it for a little while but haven’t yet eliminated that possibility.
The Canadian Pacific Railway and the Canadian Railway Time Service both commissioned a number of pocket watches from Waltham for use in running the Canadian railway networks.
Waltham made batches of watches specifically to meet these orders, often with the main plates specifically engraved (with a beaver and shield for CPR watches), and they also took watches from inventory and added bespoke engraved bridge plates in order to meet the volumes required.
I have long admired them and while they are not exactly rare they only come up from time to time and, in good condition, can command strong prices.
This particular watch is in a hefty sterling silver case and could certainly be one. That it is pendant set and not lever set was initially a concern but the Canadian railroad did approve pendant set watches for official use despite the American railroad standards requiring lever set (to ensure the watch could not accidentally be bumped out of time).
That the damaskeening (decorative patterns) on the bridge plate doesn’t match that of the main plate is not unusual as the replacement engraved bridge plates did not match the main plate decoration.
But - in theory - the “easy” way to check whether or not this is as CPR pocket watch is to remove the bridge plate and on the underside there should be numbers that correspond to the watch’s main plate serial number. I say “easy” but I have tried to loosen those screws and have been unable to do so and I don’t want the force them so I will have a watchmaker give it a go at some point.
Apart from the chip between VIII and IX the dial is in great condition.
Clues that it might be a frankenwatch are:
- it was inexpensive if it’s not
- the train on the case seems just a little contrived and convenient, although I know those cases were contemporaneous with these watches, again given it was modestly priced
- that the screws won’t budge seems odd as these things were very finely engineered
It runs really well and I am enjoying finding out about the watch and Canadian railroad watches in general (the Bulova Accutron was a big hit when it came along) so I am not in a desperate hurry to close out the question as I think my leaning is towards bad news. Watch this space.
If you are interested in the Canadian railroad watches there are several good articles out there and I have linked a couple below.
This very watch is listed in one of those as a “reported example” but I don’t put too much store in that as it could easily have been swept up without verification.
https://people.timezone.com/msandler/Articles/ClitheroeRailroad/Railroad.html
Driven to watches (researching and collecting affordably) by the boredom of COVID lockdowns. My - possibly attainable - grail watch would be a 6245 (Seiko or Grand Seiko) in nice condition … someday.
Beautiful, thank you for posting.
Good luck 👍🏻
I have always thought that "frankenwatch" is less of an epithet in the pocket watch context, at least before the wrist-watch era.
I have always thought that "frankenwatch" is less of an epithet in the pocket watch context, at least before the wrist-watch era.
I actually quite like the term for pocket watches as it conjures up all that gothic revival stuff and I bet Dr Frankenstein himself wore a pocket watch.
With the passage of time many vintage pocket watches are proudly frankenwatches as parts are cannabalised from watches and spares just to keep them going. The most common being good movements recased in inferior cases with their original gold cases melted down.
For example, this very watch is c.120 years old and I would be surprised if it doesn’t contain quite a few “borrowed” parts.
Clearly it’s a problem where things are passed off and priced as something they are not.
A pure original vintage PW is pretty rare and precious these days and - in truth - a little sad as it probably means they have just sat in a drawer for 100 plus years rather than living their best lives.
Love This. Big CPR fan
Love the pic.
The CPR fascinates me as it wasn’t a complex network but it was long as the distances are vast (I once spent 4 days travelling from Calgary to Ottawa - two days of fields and two days of trees) and there are many time zones to span too - hence the importance of timekeeping.
Oh and I have a friend from Moose Jaw, which has to be the coolest name for a frontier town!
Our network here is the opposite fiddly and intricate but with small overall distances. Our trains would have stopped running long before your pic shows!