Another Swiss Fake

Here's another example of a 19th century Swiss-made imitation of a high-grade American railroad watch.

Interestingly, this one is in a 20-year gold filled case with a decorative engraving on the back. In those times, watch manufacturers did not typically make cases, so someone bought a nice case for this movement. It's not unusual to see really good watches in cheap cases, and the reverse, as we see here.

Lastly, the watch is marked as adjusted for temperature. This adjustment is of course simply made up.

This movement, marked "Wall St", features fake jewels, which are really celluloid caps over normal pivots, non-functional external wheels, and a solid balance with phony "timing screws". It is also marked "heat and cold" which makes no sense what so ever.

At the center wheel, the brass ring meant to look like a jewel bushing is missing, showing that the jewels are just red disks sitting in recesses in the plate. Also, close examination reveals that the heads of the screws that would normally be holding the jewels in place, on this watch do not overlap the jewel bushings at all and so are also serving no purpose except appearance.