Waltham Pocket Watch

[mick56]

I found this Waltham pocket watch with a metal detector. It looks like the back would unscrew, but I don't think it will come apart. The spots that look like gold, are where the plating has come off. Is there any way to tell how old this is?

 

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[cw0909]

nice find, the Waltham Watch Company, had interchangeable parts, cases
gears ect,. maybe use a qtip with wd40 around the seam and maybe you
can get into it,as that is where the serial number is at
just a guess late 1800s- 1910
if you get it open check # here
https://pocketwatchdatabase.com/search/serialnumber/waltham

 

[pepperj]

Take a look right behind the winder to see if there's a slight impression, if not the back screws off. Sometimes a piece of nonslip rubber in the palm to prevent slippage when trying to unscrew the back.

 

[tamrock]

Bet somebody was sad the day they lost that.

 

[Loco-Digger]

Nice watch, sorry I can't help with the date.

 

[cw0909]

Bet somebody was sad the day they lost that.

yes and it had a belt clip too, nothing seems to be broken on the chain
OP might want to go back, and look around some more, might be a cache
of goods close by

 

[sutphin]

AWESOME FIND MICK . THAT IS A FINE LOOKING POCKET WATCH AND CHAIN . ........

 

[mick56]

I sure would like to get it open to see the serial no. I put some oil on it overnight, then I heated it pretty hot with a blow dryer to see if that would help. It's pretty stuck. Who knows how long it was in the ground?

 

[jude061]

if you can't get the back off to find the sn, these folks may be able to help narrow down a date range: The Waltham Museum, Waltham MA

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Nice watch Mick! I had a similar issue and after doing everything I could think of, I decided it was stuck on for good. You can see if anything I did will work on yours... The super glue and nut idea was from a pocket watch forum. http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/t...d-pocket-watch-silver-more-2.html#post4336267 Post 28 has everything I tried to get it unscrewed. Maybe it'll work for you.

If so, the serial number can be put into https://pocketwatchdatabase.com and you can get the date the movement was made. Even though I couldn't get mine open, that model was from the early 1900's. Also, the case can be more recent as the movements could be moved to a new case when the plating wore out.

Good luck getting it open! Keep us posted if you do.