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Archae

(46,260 posts)
Wed Aug 31, 2016, 10:29 AM Aug 2016

Anyone know anything about pocket watches?

I just "inherited" (my Mom gave me one,) a pocket watch that belonged to my Dad. (He died 6 years ago.)

It's not an antique, it's a quartz movement but it has a railroad motif, with a locomotive on the cover.

On the watch it says "Details" and "quartz."

Are they worth a lot?

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Anyone know anything about pocket watches? (Original Post) Archae Aug 2016 OP
Similar watches used to be advertised in Parade magazine in the 80s or 90s maybe. mahatmakanejeeves Aug 2016 #1
Ok, thanks. Archae Aug 2016 #2
There are a lot of inexpensive "railroad" watches out there. mahatmakanejeeves Aug 2016 #3
Thanks, I found the one I have. Archae Aug 2016 #5
Is that a watch in your pocket or... pinboy3niner Aug 2016 #4
La-dee-dah. rug Sep 2016 #10
I don't wear the fancy shit pinboy3niner Sep 2016 #11
I bet you used Hai Karate too. rug Sep 2016 #12
Oh hell no! pinboy3niner Sep 2016 #13
Still thinking and searching about that other one pinboy3niner Sep 2016 #14
Shit. I finally got it--it was English Leather pinboy3niner Sep 2016 #17
Yeah, I loved that wooden cap. rug Sep 2016 #19
SHIT !!!!!! beat me to it, nt clarice Sep 2016 #20
Yeah. If it doesn't have a guard, don't carry it with change in your pocket. malthaussen Aug 2016 #6
That's why god invented watch pockets Brother Buzz Sep 2016 #15
About 10 years ago.......... mrmpa Aug 2016 #7
now you need a top hat Enrique Aug 2016 #8
And a fob. Whatever the hell that is. pinboy3niner Aug 2016 #9
I was given one years ago Sherman A1 Sep 2016 #16
A true railroad watch had to meet a very specific standard sarge43 Sep 2016 #18

mahatmakanejeeves

(56,886 posts)
1. Similar watches used to be advertised in Parade magazine in the 80s or 90s maybe.
Wed Aug 31, 2016, 01:24 PM
Aug 2016

It's been a while. I think they were $39.95, give or take. They were not collectible. They were not actual railroad watches. To be a railroad watch, a watch had to meet certain standards.

mahatmakanejeeves

(56,886 posts)
3. There are a lot of inexpensive "railroad" watches out there.
Wed Aug 31, 2016, 01:59 PM
Aug 2016
Google images, inexpensive railroad pocket watch

Cheap railroad pocket watches

Yours could be different, of course.

As long as it works, it makes a great way to tell time. In any case it is something by which you can remember your father. For that purpose, it is priceless.

Best wishes.

pinboy3niner

(53,339 posts)
4. Is that a watch in your pocket or...
Wed Aug 31, 2016, 02:12 PM
Aug 2016


I have an old wristwatch that I bought in Switzerland in 1972. Certainly not an antique, but when I took it to a shop for repair once the old watch specialist told me, "Young man, that's a very fine watch you have there." It's a Jaeger-LeCoultre and probably worth much more today than the $60 I paid for it.

pinboy3niner

(53,339 posts)
11. I don't wear the fancy shit
Thu Sep 1, 2016, 12:31 AM
Sep 2016

I'm proudly (?) sporting a generic drugstore swatch. It may look like crap, but it tells me the time. Even in the dark, if I can ever find that fucking button that lights it up.

pinboy3niner

(53,339 posts)
13. Oh hell no!
Thu Sep 1, 2016, 02:14 AM
Sep 2016

In my teen high school days it was Jade East and another I can't remember at the moment, though I can picture the bottle with the wooden top (old age, what can I say?).

I DO remember that we applied them so liberally that it's a wonder we ever scored. But somehow we did. You can't explain that!

pinboy3niner

(53,339 posts)
14. Still thinking and searching about that other one
Thu Sep 1, 2016, 02:47 AM
Sep 2016

Hang on, I'll get it yet...I may have to call up some old, old girlfriends.

pinboy3niner

(53,339 posts)
17. Shit. I finally got it--it was English Leather
Thu Sep 1, 2016, 04:51 AM
Sep 2016

How could I forget the name of the one with the wooden top?

Especially when we BATHED in that crap before our dates.

malthaussen

(17,065 posts)
6. Yeah. If it doesn't have a guard, don't carry it with change in your pocket.
Wed Aug 31, 2016, 04:07 PM
Aug 2016

Made that mistake with my grandfather's RR watch. Goodbye, crystal, it was nice knowing you.

-- Mal

Brother Buzz

(36,212 posts)
15. That's why god invented watch pockets
Thu Sep 1, 2016, 03:16 AM
Sep 2016

A watch pockets and a short watch fab makes for a happy pocket watch.

mrmpa

(4,033 posts)
7. About 10 years ago..........
Wed Aug 31, 2016, 04:10 PM
Aug 2016

I bought a box from a rummage sale. On the top were a few books and there were some kitchen towels. I bought it for a buck. To my surprise I found a pocket watch at the bottom of the box. I did my research & finally sold it on ebay for $263.00. Not too bad of a return on investment.

Sherman A1

(38,958 posts)
16. I was given one years ago
Thu Sep 1, 2016, 03:17 AM
Sep 2016

It's an old Elgin Pocket Watch and I know it doesn't keep very good time, but it is something my Mom gave me that was in the family for many years. The value is sentimental and I will not part with it.

sarge43

(28,939 posts)
18. A true railroad watch had to meet a very specific standard
Thu Sep 1, 2016, 07:18 AM
Sep 2016

They were state of the art and expensive. Also, they were the badge of office for conductors.

http://ph.nawcc.org/Railroad/Railroad.htm

Archae, you might want to get a pocket watch display dome for your father's watch. They're inexpensive and quite attractive.

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