Getting Started With Antique Watches

I am frequently asked about books and other resources useful in learning about collecting, and repairing, pocketwatches, and vintages watches in general.  There are several good ones.

These three provide a good deal of information on the history of watches as well as about their care and use. These are a great place to start with the basics.

  



 

How much is your watch worth? This book is the place to look. This is a very widely used price guide that also contains quite a bit of general information on vintage watches, watch terminology, history and more. This book are great as general reference.

Practical Watch Repairing by Donald de Carle is a reprint of a classic instructional book on watchmaking.  Some of it is dated, some but most techniques are basically the same today.

Also by de Carle is Practical Watch Adjusting.

For even more technical information, there's this one by master craftsman George Daniels. This book is the gold standard on how to construct a watch from scratch.

This is not a definitive list, just a few I have seen. There are also many old and out of print books on watchmaking. Regularly checking used book stores and eBay will turn up a more. Old books often contain hard to find information on specialized antique tools and certain repair techniques.

Here are a few online resources:

• Clocks And Watches
• Illustrated Professional Dictionary of Horology
• Mike's Clock Clinic's hints and repair tips
• The Watch Guy
• Escapements
• The Metatechnical Cabinet
• AWCI
• Elgintime, especially this vintage watch FAQ

You can also find many posts about watchmaking, new and old, right here on this blog, and still more in this Collection, here.

Finally, here's a few sources of watch material, specialty services, tools, books, supplies, and more:

• Wuischpard and Son, for case repair
• Esslinger
• Twin City Suppley
• The Tick Talk Shop
• Otto Frei
• Dave's Watch Parts and Tools
• Cas-Ker
• William S. McCaw Co
• International Dial, for dial refinishing
• Advanced Clock Repair Service, for enamel dial repairs, clock repair and more

Of course you can also find quite a lot on eBay too, including old and out of print books, hard to find tools and watch parts.

Collecting, or repair, antique timepieces make for a fascinating and rewarding hobby, enjoy!