Pocket Watches
Pocket watches are a collectors’ item on one hand. In the U.S., Elgin and Waltham pocket watches are serious collector items, cherished as the first mass-produced railroad watch. There were many other companies that also produced classic pocket watches. Some of these include:
- Auburndale Pocket Watches, from Weston, Massachusetts, made 500 watches that were often defective – they are still sought out by collectors.
- Aurora Pocket Watches made in Aurora, Illinois, was another failed competitor of Elgin and Waltham. It produced timepieces for about 8 years, from 1884 to 1892.
- Illinois Pocket Watches produced watches from 1870 to 1939, before it was bought out by Hamilton.
- Lancaster Pocket watches were produced from 1877 to 1896, operating in fits and starts, punctuated by financial problems and labor strife, until the company was eventually bought out by the Keystone Standard Watch Company.
- Keystone bought out Lancaster and was in turn purchased by Hamilton in 1891.
- The Ball Watch Company was another “big player” in pocket watches. They developed standards including the use of jewels, accuracy of time to within 30 seconds per week and the open face.
Pocket watches and railroad watches
There were also a number of watch companies from other parts of the world, particularly the Swiss and the English, who made fine railroad watches. The original railroad watch was made by Mondaine, created by Hans Hilfiker.On the other hand, you can still buy new-made pocket watches. Some of these by Euro Geneve are every bit as elegant as some of the original pocket watches. There are also many affordable pocket watches on the market. If you are interested in these, Colibri of London is one name you might want to check out.
You can also find some very low-end novelty items aimed at teenagers. These are very low in price.
