The text of his testimony is Available Online (although you might have to copy it and blow it up a little to read it) thanks to Robert Sweet. testified before congress during tariff hearings. Rood, president of the Hamilton Watch Co. The Elgin Watch Collectors Site contains a 1908 Article Describing One Such Watch.Īlso in 1908, C.D. On some, their jewels seem to be larger than on most American watches and they may not all be functional. These watches were imported from the last quarter of the nineteenth century through the end of the American pocket watch era in the 1960’s. This too, is in a distinctive (red) lettering style. Many “Swiss Fakes” made to resemble 16-size, American railroad standard watches also have "21 Jewels" on the dial, in an arc over the seconds bit. Another distinctive feature is the lack of a fine finish on exposed parts, such as the winding wheels and regulator (which may be gilded). They frequently have a distinctive lettering style on their plates. They are marked with names similar to those of American watches, or with names that sound as though they should be an American watch. Your watch appears to be what is referred to as a “Swiss Fake.” This is a term used to describe inexpensive watches made to resemble medium-to-high grade American watches. I found this in an old thread (2009) from user Kent
#Fahys pocket watch box serial number
I typed in the "172654" serial number in the database and it didn't reveal any positive (or accurate) results since its a size 18 and its saying 10. I look forward to any information someone might be able to offer. So that kinda sunk my heart a little knowing it wasn't an American made time piece, but regardless it's still pretty old and looks beautifully made. Thanks, I was just looking over the pictures again and noticed the word "Swiss" stamped on the left of the words "Engineers Special". And before you unload a bunch of swag on it, be certain it is sentimentally very important to you. You might just hold off spending any money on it until you give it some thought. This watch would not have met the stringent standards of any railroad, I am fairly certain. So they would buy a cheap watch which masqueraded as the real thing. Such watches were made to cater to demand from those who wanted a "railroad" watch, but felt that a real railroad watch was over-priced. This sort of imagery does exist on the real thing, but only rarely. This type of trickery usually makes use of nifty graphics such as locomotives embossed on the movement, and enamelled renditions of a train on the dial. The "Fahy's" name would appear to refer to the maker of the case, not the maker of the movement. It is marked "21-jewels", but I highly suspect there are only 11 jewels. I suspect it's Swiss, and it shows some earmarks of a Hampden 18-size movement. You have what is known as a "fake railroad watch".