Antique Repeater Pocket Watches
Vintage, antique pocket watches are a collector favorite. The repeater, a fascinating addition to many timepieces, allows the watch to chime on certain hours or quarter hours when the owner hits a lever. Antique pocket watches often come in gold, enamel, sterling silver, or silver and may come with a different variety of watch faces, hunter cases, jewels, dial types, keywinds, and related details.
What is a Quarter Repeater?
Rare in their complexity and novelty, antique pocket watches that feature a quarter repeater are highly sought after in the watch collector's world.
- A slide level within the pocket watch triggers a chime either on a particular minute or quarter of an hour.
- This feature was very helpful for the visually impaired or for those working in the dark in the time when these vintage clocks were used on a regular basis.
- The repeater is activated when the owner presses a lever on the side of the case, setting off a series of chimes that denote the hour, quarter, and minutes. Miniature steel hammers strike inside the antique pocket watch to make the appropriate number of gongs.
What Are Some Other Important Parts of an Antique Pocket Watch?
Though pocket watches contain a very complex collection of parts, some of the major section contains the most familiar and active parts to look for when purchasing and testing antiques.
- The acrylic crystal is the glass across the face of a vintage watch. This covers the enamel dial below. Indices on the dial break up the hours and minutes into 12 parts. The recognizable hunter case describes the metal or gold door that closes in front of the open-face dial.
- Clock bearings in several antique pocket watch parts are made up of a variety of jewels. Popular jewels include rubies, sapphire, glass, and diamonds. The jewels ensure a lack of friction as the watch progresses.
- The escapement is the main part that transforms power into intricate timekeeping. The hairspring attaches to the balance wheel and moves it back and forth like a pendulum.
What Makes a Vintage Pocket Watch and Repeater Valuable?
- The complexity of a watch has a great deal to do with its value. Antique pocket watches with many jewels and calibrations add to its worth.
- As with all antique items, the brand speaks to its original worth or level of craftsmanship. American-made vintage watches increase the value in certain cases as well.
- Materials and design also play a role. Yellow gold cases, decorative pendants or additional etchings make the watch more rare and valuable.