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Creating A Collection Of Pocket Watches

Collectors realize that pocket watches have been around for years and with the invention of the pocket watch individuals were able to do things they were not able to do before. Captains on ships were able to calculate with a great ease the location of their ship more accurately, which increased the likelihood of their safe return as well as their cargo and crew.

Early edition pocket watches did not have protective face covering or an hour hand, but during the 1700s watchmakers began creating silver and gold cases to store the pocket watches in for safe keeping while moving about. Pocket watches manufactured by Walthams are highly sought after by collectors all over the world, who want to add this high quality collectible to their collection. Waltham pocket watches were actually the first mass produced pocket watches that had interchangeable parts, however few supply were made of certain models.

Another type of pocket watches for collectors to focus their collections on would be railroad designed pocket watches. A commission was set into place for all railroad engineers to use pocket watches after a fatal train wreck that occurred on the nineteenth of April of 1891, when the watch that a engineer was wearing stopped for four minutes and then started again. This mechanical error within the watch worn by the engineer resulted in a train wreck that caused nine individuals to loose their lives in Ohio. The railroad pocket watches themselves had particular standards that included, they had to contain at least fifteen jewels, black Arabic number, the size of sixteen or eighteen, and it must be able to compensate for different temperatures. After 1886, the number of jewels within the pocket watches steadily increased.

These standards were at times broken and the railroad pocket watches can be found with Roman numbers, which originated in Canada. Railroad pocket watches had to durable enough to withstand to constant abuse it could take from the jarring and swaying of the trains. Railroad management enforced their rules on the pocket watches. In fact, railroad engineers were required to have their pocket watches regularly inspected and to even submit certificates stating that it was reliable to their supervisors.

Some novice collectors misunderstand what the pocket watch size means. It does not represent the width or the length of the pocket watch or its case. In fact, it is the actually standard measurement for the size of the movement of the pocket watch, which is between zero and twenty-three. Requirements for the railroad meant that the pocket watch movements had to be a size sixteen or a size eighteen. Collectors have found railroad pocket watches with a special appeal for several reason although their faces are plain. One of those reasons is that the quality of these pocket watches are very high and they are massed produced like other pocket watches are. Another factor that adds to their appeal is the ever lasting appeal of the historical value and the romance associated with the railroad itself.

Collectors can determine the age of the pocket watches with their collection by finding a reference guide and looking up the serial numbers by the manufacture or collectors can use the Internet to search by manufacture. On American pocket watches the serial number can be located on the movement inside, but on earlier English model the pocket watches have special markings that can be researched to determine the age.

About the Author

Victor Epand is an expert consultant about rare coins, stamp collections, and rare collectibles. Follow these links to find the best marketplace for: rare coins, stamp collections, and rare pocket watches.

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