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Jan 17, 2015, 01:47 PM
#1
Old but Crafty
Watch ID
I suppose one of the disadvantages of a smaller veteran forum like this is you don't often have the fun of trying to ID someone's old pocket or wristwatch. It seems in my previous life as a vintage forum mod that was a daily job.
Let me relate one of the most memorable stories in that regard. It was when I was co-modding the vintage forum with JohnF and Eeeb.
A Civil War re-enactor came in with an 18S pocket watch that looked all the world like a first generation Waltham - but was I believe labeled Columbus watch company. Eeeb and I spent some time researching this watch and we just could not pin it down - there was indeed a Columbus watch company in the 1880s (that is Eeeb's home town so he knew of it) but the dates didn't match up - nor did the look of the watch.
We were about to give up when one of the other members suggested we may have been suckered in by a Swiss Fake - and that was indeed what was going on. The Swiss couldn't compete with the Americans for quality back in the 1870s so they faked it and used American sounding names. The American government put a stop to it eventually and that's how we got the country of origin labeling that is so important to some collectors today.
Lesson learned. Actually Swiss Fakes from the 19th century are quite collectible today, as long as you don't have to get them fixed.
Few things are more delightful than grandchildren fighting over your lap. ~Doug Larson
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