Parenthood is a solemn responsibility. The kids are always listening, and I think I can admit that I’m not always a good role model. For example, while visiting a local… Read more »
A friend asked me if I would have a look at her grandfather’s old pocket watch, which he owned long ago in Iran. Needless to say, I was curious. And… Read more »
When the word gets out that you can fix a grandfather’s old watch, some interesting watches come out of the cabinets and sock drawers. My friend with the charming 18-size… Read more »
I didn’t intend for this blog to be an homage to all things Illinois, but it has happened. Here’s another Illinois pocket watch—the last for a few posts, I swear…. Read more »
Although eBay is the wellspring from which grimy pocket watches flow, I fish in a few smaller rivers. A local, family-run coin shop gets a surprising number of broken and… Read more »
Nothing brings people together like being stuck in a boring committee at work. And when people are brought together, in my experience, they inevitably end up talking about old watches…. Read more »
I haven’t done a post on an Elgin watch yet, but there’s no dark animus behind it. Elgin watches don’t get the love they should. Although I prefer Illinois watches,… Read more »
In Part 1, we repaired and serviced an Illinois 12s “Santa Fe Special.” This nice little pocket watch had fallen on hard times, with cracked jewels, a mangled hairspring, and… Read more »
When this watch was made, thin was in. Pocket watches were toward the end of a long swing in consumers’ size preferences. In the beginning there were huge 18-size full-plate… Read more »
The Burlington Watch Company is an interesting figure in the commercial history of watches. In those days, watch companies sold movements, dials, and hands to middlemen, who sold them to… Read more »