This example has a gold case is excellent condition. It was made in about 1910.
Elgin Grade 293
This example has a gold case is excellent condition. It was made in about 1910.
Pivoting
From The American Horologist magazine, May 1946
Pivoting
By E. SEIBEL
Pivoting is something that is seldom done these days, but on occasion it becomes a necessity and it must be done. You have a fine watch that has a pivot in bad condition, or you have had an accident with it. In either case, it cannot be replaced or must be delivered sooner than 'replacement can be made.
Now, as to what you can pivot: It is practical to pivot everything, except center upper, and that, under necessity can be successfully pivoted, although you are in constant danger of having it come out when removing the canon pinion. This is true, unless it has been done very carefully and the canon pinion fitted with as easy a tension as possible and still positively carry.
The first points on which to check are your pinion and arbor, to see if they are soft enough to drill. If they are not, draw them to a pale blue, sufficiently down the length, that the drill can go deep enough to enable secure anchoring of the plug. Ordinary pivots should have as much of the plug ,sunk into the arbor or pinion as the pivot is long.
The fourth pivot should be a millimeter, or possibly a millimeter and a half, for 18 and 16 size and proportionately the same for smaller sizes. This is due to the fact that it it carries a second hand, it must not pull {jut when removing the second hand.
The hole that is drilled, must be somewhat larger than the desired pivot. The wire that is fitted into it must be filed to a very slight taper and ground off on the end, so that it will go about one-half to two-thirds the depth of the hole. Then, with slight taps of a light hammer, it must be driven home.
The reason the plug is filed is that the wire is left a little rough from the file and this aids in anchoring it in the hole. It must have only a very slight taper or there in danger of splitting the pinion or arbor. Then you are out of luck!
In pivoting a balance, the problem is a little more difficult, but it is not as serious as one might think. The only difference is the size. If you should make a mistake on it, you still can, in a great many cases, cut back to the top of the hairspring shoulder and put in a slightly smaller cone than it originally had. You will still have a very good staff and, if it is put in correctly, it will be as good as the original staff.
One thing I must caution you about is, when drilling the staff or arbor, be sure you begin by having them true in chuck or on wax chuck. If your drill should wander a little, don't become too alarmed. If it wanders only slightly, you can still turn a true pivot. However, don't let a job go in which the pivot is so off center (as is often the case) that it can be seen even without a glass. A pivot job can be done in such a way that it is necessary to look with a pivot loupe to see it and many times it is not found, even then.
In drilling, you may have difficulty with your drill. It is possible that your drill may stop cutting. Don't force it! Stop immediately and change the shape of the drill to make it more acute on the point, or make it blunter and put pressure on it-with plenty of lubrication. The thing that has happened is, your drill has lost its edge and has suddenly produced a glazed surface. It is possible you may have to sharpen your drill several times before you are through.
These pivot drills can be bought, but in my opinion, you can make much better ones. It takes patience to make these little drills, but it is worth the effort. In hardening these drills, you must be very careful you do not burn them. Never heat the bit directly but make your shank about one inch long and grasp the extreme end in an old pair of tweezers. Then let the flame of an alcohol lamp hit it midway and allow the heat to run out onto the bit. When you get it cherry fed, quickly plunge it into a cake of bee's wax until it is cold. When cold, carefully withdraw it from the wax and it will be the right temper to do a good drilling job in fairly hard steel.
I forgot to mention the fact that on a square shoulder pivot the broken pivot should be stoned flush with the shoulder. On a balance, merely stone a flat spot on the apex of the cone. After you have this flat spot, center it with a sharp and long-pointed graver for a dead true center. Do not use one with a small teat at the bottom of the center, for this will throw the drill off center.
The width of your center can be checked by taking a new needle and placing the point in the center. Then, rest your finger on the other end and rotate your lathe slowly. If no quivering of the needle is seen, the center is true.
The Veteran's Administration has announced an agreement with a WATCHMAKING school to help train severely-disabled men in administration hospitals.
The work will be given in seven paraplegic or spinal-cord injury centers, but other severely handicapped veterans will participate, the announcement said.
There are 400 paraplegics in V. A. hospitals with 1,600 more in Army and Navy care to be transferred to V. A. soon, it was tested. One of the paraplegic centers will be at Los Angeles.
Pivoting
By E. SEIBEL
Now, as to what you can pivot: It is practical to pivot everything, except center upper, and that, under necessity can be successfully pivoted, although you are in constant danger of having it come out when removing the canon pinion. This is true, unless it has been done very carefully and the canon pinion fitted with as easy a tension as possible and still positively carry.
The first points on which to check are your pinion and arbor, to see if they are soft enough to drill. If they are not, draw them to a pale blue, sufficiently down the length, that the drill can go deep enough to enable secure anchoring of the plug. Ordinary pivots should have as much of the plug ,sunk into the arbor or pinion as the pivot is long.
The fourth pivot should be a millimeter, or possibly a millimeter and a half, for 18 and 16 size and proportionately the same for smaller sizes. This is due to the fact that it it carries a second hand, it must not pull {jut when removing the second hand.
The hole that is drilled, must be somewhat larger than the desired pivot. The wire that is fitted into it must be filed to a very slight taper and ground off on the end, so that it will go about one-half to two-thirds the depth of the hole. Then, with slight taps of a light hammer, it must be driven home.
The reason the plug is filed is that the wire is left a little rough from the file and this aids in anchoring it in the hole. It must have only a very slight taper or there in danger of splitting the pinion or arbor. Then you are out of luck!
In pivoting a balance, the problem is a little more difficult, but it is not as serious as one might think. The only difference is the size. If you should make a mistake on it, you still can, in a great many cases, cut back to the top of the hairspring shoulder and put in a slightly smaller cone than it originally had. You will still have a very good staff and, if it is put in correctly, it will be as good as the original staff.
One thing I must caution you about is, when drilling the staff or arbor, be sure you begin by having them true in chuck or on wax chuck. If your drill should wander a little, don't become too alarmed. If it wanders only slightly, you can still turn a true pivot. However, don't let a job go in which the pivot is so off center (as is often the case) that it can be seen even without a glass. A pivot job can be done in such a way that it is necessary to look with a pivot loupe to see it and many times it is not found, even then.
In drilling, you may have difficulty with your drill. It is possible that your drill may stop cutting. Don't force it! Stop immediately and change the shape of the drill to make it more acute on the point, or make it blunter and put pressure on it-with plenty of lubrication. The thing that has happened is, your drill has lost its edge and has suddenly produced a glazed surface. It is possible you may have to sharpen your drill several times before you are through.
These pivot drills can be bought, but in my opinion, you can make much better ones. It takes patience to make these little drills, but it is worth the effort. In hardening these drills, you must be very careful you do not burn them. Never heat the bit directly but make your shank about one inch long and grasp the extreme end in an old pair of tweezers. Then let the flame of an alcohol lamp hit it midway and allow the heat to run out onto the bit. When you get it cherry fed, quickly plunge it into a cake of bee's wax until it is cold. When cold, carefully withdraw it from the wax and it will be the right temper to do a good drilling job in fairly hard steel.
I forgot to mention the fact that on a square shoulder pivot the broken pivot should be stoned flush with the shoulder. On a balance, merely stone a flat spot on the apex of the cone. After you have this flat spot, center it with a sharp and long-pointed graver for a dead true center. Do not use one with a small teat at the bottom of the center, for this will throw the drill off center.
The width of your center can be checked by taking a new needle and placing the point in the center. Then, rest your finger on the other end and rotate your lathe slowly. If no quivering of the needle is seen, the center is true.
* * *
The work will be given in seven paraplegic or spinal-cord injury centers, but other severely handicapped veterans will participate, the announcement said.
There are 400 paraplegics in V. A. hospitals with 1,600 more in Army and Navy care to be transferred to V. A. soon, it was tested. One of the paraplegic centers will be at Los Angeles.
Swiss Watches For Allied Leaders
From The American Horologist magazine, May 1946
Swiss Watches For Allied Leaders
Direct from Geneva comes word through the Wittnauer Watch Company that Swiss watches are to be given to W orld ,Val' II's Allied leaders by Geneva Gitizens as an expression of gratitude for preserving world freedom. These watches, to be constructed by the Wittnauer Company, will emphasize internationalism by indicating simultaneously local time in all parts of the world.
Each watch has an enamel-painted dial illustrating the effort of that nation in the war. Winston Churchill will receive one showing St. George overcoming the dragon. The hour hand will symbolize Britain's defense against invasion in the form of a trident. On the French watch, to be presented to General De Gaulle, Joan of Arc is to be depicted placing the Cross of Lorraine on the shore of France.
On the timepiece to be presented to Generalissimo Joseph Stalin the city of Stalingrad will be painted in enamel and a defiant workman will stand in front of burning factories under a sky of storm and fire. The Red Star will mark the hours.
President Truman's watch will have the Statue of Liberty. An olive branch for the hour hand will symbolize peace.
All watch cases are identical and are decorated with a V-sign superimposed on a miniature map of the globe.
Mrs. Roosevelt is receiving, as a tribute to her late husband, a small silver clock supported by three V-shaped legs. It is decorated with a finely engraved motive representing an armada leaving the shores of America to give succor to the burning Old World.
TIME-CLOCK control for radio receivers can be set to interrupt other programs and throw in automatically any desired program at the proper TIME. It has a frequency pre-selector with an auxiliary condenser, and CLOCK mechanism to substitute this condenser at the right TIME.
Swiss Watches For Allied Leaders
Each watch has an enamel-painted dial illustrating the effort of that nation in the war. Winston Churchill will receive one showing St. George overcoming the dragon. The hour hand will symbolize Britain's defense against invasion in the form of a trident. On the French watch, to be presented to General De Gaulle, Joan of Arc is to be depicted placing the Cross of Lorraine on the shore of France.
On the timepiece to be presented to Generalissimo Joseph Stalin the city of Stalingrad will be painted in enamel and a defiant workman will stand in front of burning factories under a sky of storm and fire. The Red Star will mark the hours.
President Truman's watch will have the Statue of Liberty. An olive branch for the hour hand will symbolize peace.
All watch cases are identical and are decorated with a V-sign superimposed on a miniature map of the globe.
Mrs. Roosevelt is receiving, as a tribute to her late husband, a small silver clock supported by three V-shaped legs. It is decorated with a finely engraved motive representing an armada leaving the shores of America to give succor to the burning Old World.
* * *
Old Watches On Exhibition
From The American Horologist magazine, May 1946
Old Watches On Exhibition
Watches made from 1525 on are being exhibited by the United States Time Corporation at Rockefeller Center, New York. These watches one hundred on number, are owned by Mrs.
Jean Wheeler Jellico.
The oldest watch was made in Nuremberg in 1525 and is made in the shape of a drum. The works are' of iron, the dial and case of bronze, and has only one hand. It was designed to hang from a chain. Other watches are the work of Thomas Tompion, originator of the pocket watch, and official watchmaker for the Court of Charles II.
Some of the watches on display have historical significance. A large coach watch that spoke of the time of Lord Nelson in 1760 was engraved with his coat of arms. A golden lyre watch studded with rubies and diamonds is supposed to have been given to Mme. Du Barry by Louis XV. Another was once owned.by a Manchu Emperor and is known as the "fountain watch," tiny falling crystals giving the effect of flowing water. It is richly enameled and inlaid with pearls. It was looted in Peiping during the Boxer rebellion and reappeared in Europe several years later.
Many of those early watches were very ambitiously designed, the idea being that they should do more than tell time. For example, some play music or chimes on the hour. An early eighteenth century watch has an alarm. Another has a pin that when pushed starts a procession of royal figures - king, queen, and courtiers. And as early as 1800 Braille was having its forerunner, because a blind man's watch, in the shape of a cylinder, was equipped with hands on the outer case that ran parallel to those on the dial, enabling the blind man to feel the time.
Quito; capitol of Ecuador, lies on the Equator. Every day the sun rises at exactly 6 A. M. and sets at 6 P. M.
Old Watches On Exhibition
Jean Wheeler Jellico.
The oldest watch was made in Nuremberg in 1525 and is made in the shape of a drum. The works are' of iron, the dial and case of bronze, and has only one hand. It was designed to hang from a chain. Other watches are the work of Thomas Tompion, originator of the pocket watch, and official watchmaker for the Court of Charles II.
Some of the watches on display have historical significance. A large coach watch that spoke of the time of Lord Nelson in 1760 was engraved with his coat of arms. A golden lyre watch studded with rubies and diamonds is supposed to have been given to Mme. Du Barry by Louis XV. Another was once owned.by a Manchu Emperor and is known as the "fountain watch," tiny falling crystals giving the effect of flowing water. It is richly enameled and inlaid with pearls. It was looted in Peiping during the Boxer rebellion and reappeared in Europe several years later.
Many of those early watches were very ambitiously designed, the idea being that they should do more than tell time. For example, some play music or chimes on the hour. An early eighteenth century watch has an alarm. Another has a pin that when pushed starts a procession of royal figures - king, queen, and courtiers. And as early as 1800 Braille was having its forerunner, because a blind man's watch, in the shape of a cylinder, was equipped with hands on the outer case that ran parallel to those on the dial, enabling the blind man to feel the time.
* * *
Quito; capitol of Ecuador, lies on the Equator. Every day the sun rises at exactly 6 A. M. and sets at 6 P. M.
Engagement Rings For Men
From The American Horologist magazine, May 1946
Engagement Rings For Men
Despite reports to the contrary, men are wearing engagement rings, according to a New York chemical engineer. 'l'hey are definitely on the increase and have graduated out of the fad class into a custom. One company is claimed to have sold 312,000 of these mens' engagement rings in the past 16 months.
Mathew Rosenthal, former Marine Captain in the Pacific, whose company, the Gabriel Williams Company, sold the rings said, "They're not diamonds.
They're made out of a secret mineral composition, almost as hard as a diamond." Rosenthal, who perfected the stone, says the setting, that sells for $17 wholesale, looks like a black cameo and has the head of a man and woman on it. The Williams Company sells the stone to retail jewelers, who put them into rings selling from $35 to $75. He now has 27 lapidaries working on the new idea, Every worker is a war veteran.
-Stephen J. Schmiedl.
Engagement Rings For Men
Mathew Rosenthal, former Marine Captain in the Pacific, whose company, the Gabriel Williams Company, sold the rings said, "They're not diamonds.
They're made out of a secret mineral composition, almost as hard as a diamond." Rosenthal, who perfected the stone, says the setting, that sells for $17 wholesale, looks like a black cameo and has the head of a man and woman on it. The Williams Company sells the stone to retail jewelers, who put them into rings selling from $35 to $75. He now has 27 lapidaries working on the new idea, Every worker is a war veteran.
-Stephen J. Schmiedl.
You Can Always Get Diamonds!
From The American Horologist magazine, May 1946
You Can Always Get Diamonds!
You Can Always Get Diamonds!
A jeweler in West Virginia, seeking to attract the attention of women in a nylon line outside his store, put a $24.28 price tag on a diamond ring worth $127.00. The women paid no attention but kept their places in line. "Women have lost all sense of values," sighed the jeweler as he changed the price tag on the ring back to $127.00. Of course the women won't agree. They'll maintain that the jeweler overvalues his diamonds if he expects them to "bust" up a nylon line in these stocking less days.
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