Patek Movement

Interstatetime · Feb 25, 2014

I was testing a new lighting system to day and thought I would shoot a watch. This is a Patek Philippe pocket watch from around 1892-3. It was made by Patek for the firm of Bingham and Walk of Indianapolis, IN. Along with Vacheron Constantin, Patek wanted to compete in the American RR watch market. They never amounted to much among RR workers but they sold a lot of watches to RR executives and Bankers. This is a 20 jewel movement and still keeps RR time.

Dablitzer · Feb 26, 2014

What a stunning looking movement! It looks better than a magazine picture. Amazing!

JimInOz · Feb 26, 2014

Stunning photography and a stunning movement.

Pity we can only give one like 🙁

Interstatetime · Feb 26, 2014

Thanks guys.

As far as the watch is concerned, the story is interesting. This watch belonged to a watchmaker friend of mine. His master owned the movement which was originally in an 18k Patek case. The master bought the movement from a gold smelter back in the first gold rush of the early '80s. The apprentice cased the watch in a nickle-silver railroad case and bought it from the master. It has a beautiful perfect matching dial and hands that make you think maybe only God could have made them.

As far as the photo is concerned I gave up before I got it exactly the way I wanted. Note the screw heads on the right side of the movement have all turned black due to a reflection. I wanted to have all of the screw heads look like the top of the balance cock where it sort of fades from white at the top to darker at the bottom. As I moved things around and got closer to this the movement had less contrast. At some point I had to get back to work on my actual money making work so I gave up.

JohnCote

barie11 · Feb 26, 2014

It blows my mind that it is over 100 years old and still keeps time....and not to mention looks that good.

Mechanical watches rock....

Interstatetime · Feb 26, 2014

barie11
It blows my mind that it is over 100 years old and still keeps time....and not to mention looks that good.

Mechanical watches rock....

Purely mechanical watches...watches powered by springs can run beautifully for an awfully long time. I wish they could all tell their stories. My story for this watch only has 35 years or so of known truth. The story I invent for the rest of its life is that it was presented to a wealthy man by the board of his company. It was in a nice 18k gold case with a dedication to him on the cuvette. He was not a watch guy so it sat in a drawer and when he died it was given to his son. It was a treasured heirloom in the family until it came into the possession of some ner-do-well great grandson who needed the money for booze and sold it to the gold buyer.

All of us collectors want watches with a story like this. We want the pampered watches. We want the watches which were treasured more than they were worn. We hope we can buy them before the cases get melted but we want the 120 year old or the 30 year old watches with hearts that still beat and have interesting stories to tell.

You are so right when you say "Mechanical watches rock."

JohnCote

Fritz · Feb 26, 2014

Shite photography but: this one dodged the melt down of the early 70s when so many lovely old watches gave up their cases because of the rising cost of metal.

Made about 1893 by Waltham, its a solid 14K ladies 6 size pendant watch which, from its lovely condition, must have lived most of its life in a sock drawer. (I hate to admit it, but any scratches you see are from my wearing it ) and yes.... it still keeps good time!

The stories they could tell if only we could hear them!

Interstatetime · Feb 26, 2014

Fritz, that ia a crackerjack case. You are right...that watch could tell a story if it could talk.

JohnCote

Interstatetime · Feb 26, 2014

While on the topic of American watch cases here is one for you fritz. It is American 18 size (largest common man's size). It houses a unique, as far as I know, variant of the Illinois Watch Company Grade 105 from about 1884. I really wish this watch could talk because it is mechanically different enough from its brothers in this grade that we Illinois collectors want to know why it was made. This is just the jewelry part of a nice timepiece.

Fritz · Feb 27, 2014

As a "we Illinois collector" type, could you help me find some bits for my 1874 Illinois "Miller" grade?

The correct outer dust ring for the movement and a set of hands are needed to bring her right up to snuff.... then I have to find a nicer case.

I send you a picture later, it currently lives in a bashed up silver case but is keeping great time.

Interstatetime · Feb 27, 2014

I may be able to help you Fritz.

JohnCote

Fritz · Feb 27, 2014

Parts are hard to come buy for these beasties...it would be appreciated, I'll email outside of the thread.

How about a shot of the movement and a description of that '84 grade 105, that sounds really interesting!

Meanwhile...... since you are an Illinois fan......Its porn time!.......my 19 jewel motor barrel Bunn!

Interstatetime · Feb 27, 2014

I love the Bunns. for me the best thing about your little Bunn is the dial. That is a very scarce dial. I doubt I have seen more that a 5 or 6 of these in my life and believe me...I have seen a lot of bunz.

OK if you are into Bunn Porn here are photos of 2 of the 4 known examples of 17j 18s Double Roller marked Bunn Hunter known to exist from my humble collection. The first on is featured on the cover of the book, "Illinois Watch Company, Encyclopedia and Price Guide" By Bill Meggers and Roy Ehrhardt which is probably still one of the finest watch research books ever written. The factory records show 200 serial numbers were set aside for these movements. We are pretty sure no more than 100 were actually made. Nobody knows why only 4 have shown up but I can tell you that I am familiar with most of the big Illinois collections and even a lot of the smaller ones and there seem only to be 4.

Fritz · Feb 27, 2014

1874 Illinois Miller...... at 14400bph we're taking the slow train! (the balance runs at 4 beats per second.... it sounds like a little steam engine running!)

I sent this in for a service two years ago and the very elderly gentleman who worked on it LOST the original silver case, dust ring & hands for the movement. I got it back a year later fitted with the dust ring from a pendant set movement and a battered silver case and mismatched hands.... I wasn't amused.

Fritz · Feb 27, 2014

Interstatetime
I love the Bunns. for me the best thing about your little Bunn is the dial. That is a very scarce dial. I doubt I have seen more that a 5 or 6 of these in my life and believe me...I have seen a lot of bunz.

THATS BEAUTIFUL! MORE, I NEED MORE............ What a staggeringly beautiful movement! Whats the other side look like, if its a gothic dial I may swoon!

I have a small collection of railway watches and I've watched for an 18 size Illinois of that quality for a while.... needless to say, I"ve not seen one as nice as that!

Interstatetime · Feb 27, 2014

Both of these have the same "Pointed top 4" Gothic dial. The dial is the top picture on the book cover pictured below and the movement is at the bottom. As far as pocket watches are concerned, I sort of specialize in 18s Illinois. Below the book cover photo is a photo of the Grade 105 movement which goes in the big multi-color box hinge case pictured above. It is the only example known and probably ever produced of a 105 with no keywind arbor on the movement. The 105 is very scarce anyway and very high grade for its time. It is the first American watch made with a Breguet overcoil hairspring.

Fritz · Feb 27, 2014

Beautiful!

So your patented regulator.... can I take it there are teeth on the inside diameter of that ring that the screw is acting on? Very clever!

I have an engineer where I work who used to run a CNC mill, he can't believe stuff of this quality was made that long ago, never mind mass produced. I showed him my pair of model 92 Walthams (A CPR and a Vanguard), all he could do was gawk.

more porn:
922 Hamilton (eat your heart out Patek!)
1892 Waltham CPR
999B Hamilton Ball

My Dad started on the railroad in '48 as a steam locomotive engineer, he had a 992B so I'm kind of partial to Hamiltons. (yup, got me a 992B from 48 as well!)

Interstatetime · Feb 27, 2014

Fritz
Beautiful!

So your patented regulator.... can I take it there are teeth on the inside diameter of that ring that the screw is acting on? Very clever!

That is how it works. Nice watches Fritz.

JC

ulackfocus · Feb 27, 2014

Interstatetime
for the firm of Bingham and Walk of Indianapolis, IN.

Isn't Dewey Cheatem & Howe next door?

::rimshot::