Watches from each decade - Share your watches Part 2: The 20s

I want to see where this is going

It looks beautiful. If not the lugs, the dial seems something valid also in the 30s and 40s. Thank you for sharing.

I’m as curious as you are.

I’m waiting for @Aurelian to add some of his collection to this decade...

You guys have some seriously cool vintage pieces!!!

Hopefully he joins when we reach the 40s. He, like me, has passed until then.

I have read a counterintuitive article that analyzed watch ads from the 1920's.  The author posits that the conventional narrative that the First World War spurred the adoption of the wrist watch in the 1920's is overly simplistic.  His thesis is that pocket watches were still dominant throughout the decade. Major pocket watch makers spurred the move to wrist watches because pocket watches were expensive and lasted a long time.  They needed a new market because the pocket watch space was saturated.

If he is correct then Elgin, Waltham and others created a new market because growth was sluggish. It is the industry leading the consumer, rather than the story of the consumer demanding the new product.

I have it saved on another computer. I will post it if I find it. (1940's for me.)

A Citizen? Holy guacamole, there's a Citizen of...is this an American or European brand? 

John Harwood circa 1924-25. Early production run with the large font for the HARWOOD letter on the movement.

Nice. Wasn’t there some special way to wind your Harwood. Anyway, nice to have you onboard🎉

Thank you, it's nice to be with you all😀! The watch winds simply by giving it a few shakes. Like a Seiko 5 😅. Harwood's idea was that by removing the crown the watch would be water resistant and dust proof.

There was a Swiss Citizen brand that was started around 1918 for the purpose of exporting watches to the Japanese market. Investors of this company and Japanese investors founded what we know as Citizen in 1930 in Japan.  Citizen has always had Swiss roots.

So most of my vintage watches reside in the 1950s/60s/70s. I have a few from the 1930s/40s - so I'll be able to contribute to that list.

Here is all that I have from the 1920s - not much, but thought I would share anyway:

Doxa Pocket Watch in nickel silver alloy (ca 1925)

TH. Pichard Fils La Chaux De Fonds - monopusher chronograph (1920s) - running Valjoux 23

Interested to see what others have from this era

Man, I would rock that monopusher right this instant🔥💯🙌⌚!

I don't have a watch that old but here are some vintage watch ads from the era, in case you're interested. 

Thanks!

I had to wait for new fixed lug style straps, as the dealer I purchased it from in Europe could not send the strap that is pictured because it was alligator and there are huge restrictions now about sending certain animal products out of Europe including alligator, crocodile, ostrich, etc.

I've just received some nice fixed lug style straps and should have a wrist shot up on WRUW soon.

Not much you say. Great looking watches I say. Thank you.

Great addition to display the period of time👌

Have you explored the Europa Star archive? They have amazing advertisements and articles going back to the 1920s. They have digitized all of their prior issues. Amazing treasure trove of information.

Here's an example from 1964:

https://www.europastar.com/demo/EUROPASTAR_EUROPE_026_1964_002_0001/index.html#p=1

Yes, I have! It's incredible - I've lost days just digging into the archives, so fun.

At your prompting, I have strapped on the TH Pichard Fils for my outing to the Apple store...thought it was fitting to wear a 1920s watch 😉

A very sincere OMG 🧡👍💪🤝👌⌚!

You're a lucky guy 😀!

Oh poop - missed the boat on earlier decades.  Before the timeline advances any further - I've got an entry for the 1885 to 1900 range?  

This is a family pocket watch and there are no dates printed on it, so best guess it's from my great grandfather, not great great.  Reginald Walker was a surgeon in London (sometimes for the Royals) and was born in 1860.   

Interior side of inside case has a few numbers, and an '18' beside a small crown image.  In a few places there is an AF stamped.

On movement it says 'Dobree and Freeman' 318 Strand, London.'   and '51/092'

If anyone here is knowledgeable about these things and can add some info I'd be grateful.

BTW - When we hit 1930s, 40s, and 50s, as I've got some great examples for those decades!  

Great thank you. Nice pocket watch and with a bit of history that comes with it. Looking forward to your input from the 30s.

I'm pretty sure that this seriously beat up Ingersoll is from the 1920s.  I'm also pretty sure that the lume is radium. 🥺

It looks as if it has been around for sure.

This instrument should be time appropriate to measure it.