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When describing the items on our site we try to give a reasonably comprehensive report. We hope you understand the technical terms used in them and don't have difficulty when reading them. (We will be expanding our reference site to include explanations of technical terms used in horology.) However some of the description is written in what could be thought of as a form of code: - We understand what it means but you might not! All should be clearer when you have read through this.
Below each description are the images, up to seven on some items! Clicking on one of these medium sized images will display a larger version. The images on our web site (and in our catalogues) are produced using a professional Nikon based Kodak digital SLR camera. As with any digital image it can be enhanced and the images you see are optimised for quality on the Internet. Some shadows, reflections and distracting marks are removed from the background. We do not make any attempt to hide or disguise damage, cracks or remove marks from the watches themselves. In particular we do not "airbrush" out hairline cracks from dials, they are often just not easily visible to the naked eye. Nor do we try to make gilding or enamel decoration richer or more brightly coloured than in real life.
The condition of a watch can have a great bearing on its value, see Condition below. We give the condition of each of the major components separately as they have often suffered to varying degrees. In many instances only the overall condition of each is given and should be read in conjunction with the main text. When considering these conditions you should bear in mind that they are relative to the age of the watch. A very much higher standard is placed on a watch dating from 1940 than 1640! The terms used are:-
Often these categories are qualified in some way. For example an enamel dial might be perfect with the exception of a chip at the winding aperture. This might still be described as "Excellent" with the blemish mentioned. Sometimes the qualification added will indicate it is better than the category might normally command or just an explanation. A common example would be an enamel dial with a visible hairline crack which would be described as Very good, hairline crack. Please note we do NOT use the term "mint". Any pocket watch over two years old that could be described as mint would need cleaning and therefore no longer be "mint". If you look it up in a dictionary its either a kind of sweet or a coin in the same condition as it was when it was struck!
Below is a guide to the how we grade watches. These are not rules, just an indication of the things we take into account. With only one serious fault the watch will probably not be marked as excellent where if it had three or four minor faults it could be marked as excellent. Unfortunately almost all antique watches have suffered to a greater or lesser extent and listing all of the blemishes would not only be very time consuming but give a false impression of the watch.
| Movements | These can be broken down into four broad categories. |
| Early non-precision watches made until circa 1840 | |
| Serious faults | Minor faults |
| Missing or poorly
restored major components Deep scratches or worn gilding Train wheels replaced with modern types Severely rusted or pitted steel parts |
Restored minor components Light scratches to the plates Replaced or marked screws Replaced teeth in original train wheels Bushed pivots Signs of rust on steel work Poor timekeeping |
| Precision hand made pieces circa 1780 to 1900 | |
| Missing components Damaged or restored major components Light rust (Except squares and case latches) Signs of rust on hairspring & escapement Poor Timekeeping |
Well restored minor components Light marking to the plates Light marking to the screws |
| Machine made, hand finished precision watches from circa 1850 | |
| Missing components Damaged or restored components Signs of rust Marked screws Marked plates Poor Timekeeping |
Well restored minor components Very Light marking to the screws |
| Mass produced standard grade watches. | |
| Missing components Damaged or restored major components Light rust Signs of rust on hairspring & escapement Poor Timekeeping |
Well restored minor components Some marking to the plates Some marking to the screws Lightly distressed gilding (or other finish of originally poor quality) |
| Dials. | These can be broken down into three broad categories. |
| White and polychrome enamel dials | |
| Very Serious Faults | |
| Later polychrome scene
1 Poor restoration Large chip |
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| Serious faults | Minor faults |
| Professional
restoration 2 Small chip Hairline crack |
Light surface scratches |
| Early Champleve dials of silver or gold | |
| Modern copy Small section missing Dents or creases Heavy scratches |
Light scratches Some wax lacking |
| Metal and Painted dials | |
| Heavy Scratches Missing numerals or batons Dents or creases Worn engraving or engine turning |
Very light scratches Slight fading of painted numerals |
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The condition of the dial also takes into account the hands. It is almost impossible to be sure whether the hands are original if they are in keeping with the period of the watch and style of the dial. If damaged or obviously not original they will be taken into account when assessing the condition of the dial unless a specific reference is made to them. |
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1 Polychrome
scenes. There are some watches which have polychrome scenes painted on
them later. This practice was more common in the 1970s and 80s. A few
can be difficult to distinguish from fully restored originals. We
therefore try to avoid watches where most of the value relates to the
scene. In any event we will not handle restored examples unless we are
absolutely satisfied the scene is original. 2 Full restoration of enamel dials entails filling in any chips and painting any missing numerals and details. The whole surface of the dial is then covered with a layer of clear lacquer. The skill of the restorers is such that it is normally not possible to see where the damage was. Restoration of flat dials (those without sunk subsidiaries) is often so close to perfect that only a surface test reveals the restoration. Those with sunk subsidiaries can normally be detected by an experienced eye under close inspection. |
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| Cases | These can be broken down into three broad categories. |
| Plain pair cases, hunters and open face | |
| Serious faults | Minor faults |
| Splits Bruising (medium to heavy dents) Pendants or bows poorly replaced Heavy Scratches Poor repairs, especially lead Damaged or missing springs Heavy signs of wear |
Very small "dings" Pendants of pair cases fixed with lead. Light rust to springs Light signs of wear |
| Engine Turned, Decoratively Engraved and Repousse | |
| Splits Bruising Scratches Poor repairs, especially lead Damaged or missing springs Engine turning or highlights significantly rubbed |
Very small "dings" Light rust to springs Light signs of wear |
| Enamel, shagreen and tortoiseshell | |
| Fully restored Enamel Section chipped or missing Major stone or split pearl missing Signs of Heavy wear |
Light scratches Small split in covering Small stone, pearl or pique pin lacking Light rust to springs Light signs of wear |
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The case of the watch receives the most wear in normal use. Due to this its age is taken into account to a greater degree than with the movement and dial. As there is a great variation to the gauge of the metal used in original manufacture this is not considered as part of the condition. If the case is of very light or heavy gauge for its type this would mentioned in the main description. |
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One of the most important aspects of a watch is its condition. The difference in value of some types of watch can be three or four times between one in outstanding condition and one in only average state.
The items are split into two sections, watches and movements. Unless otherwise stated, all watches are functioning within the constraints imposed by their age and original design. In the movements section the reverse is true, none are fully working unless a note is made to the contrary. We try and indicate how much damage there is, broken pivots, bent teeth etc, and how much of it is missing, often the dial and motion work and occasionally jewels or part of the repeating work. The list of damaged and missing parts is not guaranteed to be definitive but we do endeavour to list all important or major pieces. Where the phrase "requires cleaning" appears it indicates that the movement should work satisfactorily if it were cleaned and given minor adjustments.
In the main section of watches the condition is split into three different areas: Case, Dial and Movement. Each is given an overall judgement of their condition in five broad bands; Poor, Fair, Good, Very good and Excellent. The age and type of the watch will have a great bearing on the rating a it receives. For instance if a 20th century high quality precision watch has a scratch on the top plate, but is otherwise perfect, it may be said to be Very Good; whereas a late 17th Century verge with a number of similar marks will be described as Excellent. The criteria used are numerous, most weight being given to originality and any damage or poor repair that will permanently disfigure or impair the watch in some way. Less regard is given to the time keeping abilities, especially verge watches, as it is not envisaged that they will be used to tell the time.
Reading through the descriptions you could be
forgiven for thinking that there were only two ratings given, Very good
and Excellent.
The main reason for this is that we carefully select the watches we
include, cleaning and restoring those that require attention. In
particular we often restore gold and silver cases to almost like new
condition. We are quite happy if the items are just dirty or in need of
partial restoration, however, where complete rebuilds and new components
are required we leave these watches for other dealers to buy. If we do
accidentally buy something unsuitable it generally ends up in an auction
in the same condition.
The most frequent comment we have from our customers is that when we have catalogued the movement dial and case as "Very good" they feel we should have given it an "Excellent" description throughout. We are happier to have complaints that we are under praising the watches rather than over praising them!
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