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Gettysburg PA. 17325
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Information on "Civil War Watches"
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I have had a lot of requests for information concerning the use and care of early American watches, which some have become known as Civil war Watches. First let me say that there is a LOT of bad information out there on the net. To be a TRUE Civil war watch you must have documentation that the watch was actually carried in the Civil War. These watches are extremely rare and you almost never see them for sale. The term "Civil War Watch" has today come to mean that any watch that was made before or during the Civil War that could have seen use by a solider. The watch in our example is one such watch. One other thing, of late you will see watches with dials that say or depict the civil war . These dials have been altered or changed, almost all of the watches at the time had regular dials.
Watches can come as a hunting case or open face. (With a cover over the dial or not) The most asked question is "how do I set my watch? 99% of all these watches you wind and set with a key. Look at the picture above and you will see that the Bezel (the part that holds the crystal) is hinged. Use your key or knife to gently open the hinged bezel.
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The key then goes on the end of the square that holds the hands. You can turn the key in both directions to set the hands. After you set the time, you close the bezel with your fingers applying pressure to the bezel as shown. If you push on the crystal you most likely brake it.
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To close the case cover, depress the pendant button first, then close the cover. If you just snap the cover closed the steel clasp will sooner or later remove the softer sliver or gold from the lid and your case will not stay closed any longer. To wind your watch, insert the key and wind the watch until it stops. It will only wind in one direction.
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The dust cover may also be opened with your key, just like the bezel. Be very careful when looking at the movement (the watches insides). There were only a few American watch companies in business making watches in 1860-65. American Waltham Watch Co. was the largest. Howard was another, which are scarce, and several other very small companies that you will never find any of there watches today. So if you want an American made Civil War watch it must be a Waltham or Howard. On the Waltham's the serial number should be less than 180,000. That would be for a watch made in 1865. Numbers that high would for the most part never have been sold before the end of the war. To be safe you should look for watches with numbers less than 100,000.
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On silver cases the oz. mark is usually on the inside of the dust cover. This watch has a 4 oz. case. To keep your watch looking good, I would suggest using a jewelers polishing cloth. You just lightly rub your case once a month to keep it looking great.
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And finally ALWAYS use a chain or fob when you wear your watch. If you drop it you most likely will have a big repair bill.
I hope this info. has helped, if you have any questions please feel free to email me.