Help Me Identify This Pocket Watch! 😀

Could it possibly be a Hamilton, similar to this one?

https://antiqwatch.com/old-watches/famous-american-railroad-pocket-watches.html

The loop at the top looks wrong. Hamilton has more of a flattened, oval shape; the one in the pictures has a perfectly circular shape. But it's a good place to start.

I think I might have actually found it! Look at this Waltham railroad watch:

If this isn't the exact watch, it is VERY close.

This is another Waltham watch; like the previous one, it is a model 1892. But while the previous watch was an 1892 Crescent Street, this one is an 1892 Vanguard.

Could be a Cyma. I have a very similar looking one.

Ok, so these are the best matches I could find, with simple Google searches. Are there any pocket watch experts out there who can be more precise?

I can tell you one is American and the other British, if that helps! 🤣

One thing I think needs examination: Whatever it is underneath the 12, it's either a symbol, a short number, or some initials. That blurry, black smudge isn't wide enough to be a name like HAMILTON or even ELGIN.

Are there any pocket watch companies that had 2 or 3 letter names? Or perhaps 2 or 3 initials?

These are the best screen shots that I can manage. 😕

So here’s news to rock the discussion. Most pocket watch movements were sold separately from the cases. So the movement inside and the case that you find it it now is random — the case chosen was based on how much the customer wanted to pay back then. So this doesn’t really help solve the mystery. The only piece of the puzzle that we need is to know is what that marking in the middle of the dial is… And it’s too small for me to read. It doesn’t look like any of the classic American pocket watch brands.

So you think that the pocket watch in the film was a replica?

It definitely looks like an American pocket watch and the recessed sections of the enamel dial are distinctive and indicative of a higher grade movement. But the logo/smudge is difficult to match to the mainstream American manufacturers. So there are a few possibilities:

1. It’s a made up prop but with so many examples out there and relatively easy to acquire I think that unlikely.

2. It might be a private label watch where jewelers/retailers used manufactured movements and cases but branded the watches themselves.

3. It might be a Ball which was “the railroad standard” and though they didn’t make the movements they sold watches of a railroad grade. Their logo was quite busy but had a central RR (for rail road) that was quite prominent and the rest of the lettering could be bleached out. But I haven’t seen Ball watches with a recessed dial like that.

4. It might be an Omega, again with the lettering near the logo bleached out by the lighting. I haven’t seen many Omegas that have recessed dials and such unfussy hands.

There is an American forum with lots of pocket watch experts (search NAWCC) and I suspect posting your Q there may bring some pretty insightful/authoritative responses.

Watched the footage per the link you included and it doesn’t appear as if there is any bleached out text. It looks like a size 18 pocket watch with a double sunk “Canadian” dial, suggesting a high grade movement that the watch met the railroad standards of its day. Apart from the logo everything else suggests Waltham to me so it may well be a private label or personalized dial.

I agree, I have seen a few Walthams that look REALLY CLOSE to this watch. 😀

I took your advice, and posted on NAWCC. I will keep you (and everyone else following this thread) in the loop as things develop 😎

Per your NAWCC response - v similar but I don’t think this is recessed …

This one is recessed - apparently one of their better movements 21 jewel). Glad they helped you get there as it was bugging me!

Now... if only I can find one for sale, LOL 🤣 All the hits on Google are for auctions that have already closed. 😕

If you’re serious - good luck and beware of the monsters!

I do see them come up from time to time but they don’t seem to be highly prized, though they are often highly priced! I don’t think Swiss movements put in cases in Canada by a retailer appeals as much as the American railroad watch heritage (bear in mind that the American movements were considered more favorably at that time).

Hub City Time are currently listing this one for a lot of money. It looks like the high end of the movements (23 jewels) used but I doubt that is the original case. And for that money you could get something really special in the American railroad pocket watch world.

The Wrist Watch Company have one that doesn’t look to be railroad grade and with Roman numerals but at a much lower price but I still think that’s a high price compared to a non-railroad Waltham with the same look (pic further below).

If you’re serious about an Eaton then keep an eye on a couple of the Canadian-based pocket watch dealers. Old Tymers currently has a couple listed and I think that is where I see them most frequently.

I can’t recall if I ever saw them on Darlor but again at the prices I see them at I would prefer an American railroad watch or even something like the Omega below with the same look.

Good luck and enjoy and don’t hurry the quest - as that’s the best part.

I was looking for a Canadian Pacific Railway (Waltham) pocket watch for a long time but realistically they were beyond my means. Just by keeping an eye out I did eventually get a good one (not perfect - see pic below) for about a third of what it would normally have cost me - and I learnt a lot along to way. And now I cherish it all the more because of the quest.

I don’t think Swiss movements put in cases in Canada by a retailer appeals as much as the American railroad watch heritage (bear in mind that the American movements were considered more favorably at that time).

Well, while the American railway system is very interesting to me, that's not the reason that I want the watch. I am one of those eccentric people who like to have the same objects that they see on the movie screen. For me, that was a very touching movie, and I enjoyed it immensely, because the main male character (Ray) cares about preserving his family's history through the use of heirlooms (the watch) in the same way that I do; I don't collect watches to sell, or to show off, I collect them to have something nice to pass on to my descendants. And of all of the objects that one could pass down, watches are one of the most enduring of object types aside from rings and lockets... And land, LOL! 🤣 That's why my newly-built house and the 8 acres it sits on have been placed into a trust. When I depart from this world, I'd like to leave a legacy for future generations. 😀

I think the watch in the film is beautiful, and I'd really like to have one just like it. It's as simple as that.

Having said all of this, I live in a "railroad town." Our town has a historic railroad station that is still in operation with modern trains (Amtrak, Santa Fe, etc.,) which also has a museum showing the station's history, as well as an, old, steam engine, and a caboose, parked outside on special sets of tracks. (Click here to see it.) I've lived here since 2012, and although I've taken the kids to the museum many times, I've never really explored the history in-depth. And so, I will probably do a deep-dive into that history at some point, and upon doing so, I will probably want to collect a few watches that have a connection to the American railway system. 😎

Some good info for your quest on this thread…

https://mb.nawcc.org/threads/gallet-interocean-candian-railroad-watch.102680/

Saw this one on eBay and thought I would flag it in case you’re still on the lookout … as the high jewel ones don’t pop up often …

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/266262493810?hash=item3dfe7b3a72:g:bZ8AAOSw-o9kMX7t