Watch dials
Posted: Mon Feb 12, 2024 6:40 pm
I’ve been buying spare dials for my railroad pocket watch collection. I try to buy only mint condition dials, unless I come across an example that is rare. These dials are stored so that in the event I acquire a watch that has a dial in poor condition or missing the dial, I can restore the watch.
These are mint condition glass enamel dials that were made by the Hamilton Watch Company. The ones on the left are for 18 size railroad watches and the one on the right is for an early 16 size Grade 992 railroad watch. Each dial is worth over $100. All of these dials were manufactured over 100 years ago
These dials are in okay condition but have visible defects. The one on the left has a repair just above the 7 where a chip in the enamel was filled in and faint hairline cracks. The one in the middle has repairs to edge chips from the 34-37 and 40-48 minute marks and hairline cracks. The one on the right has hairline cracks and a repair at the 11-12 minute marks (which are missing). The one on the left and center are probably worth $70 and the one on the right maybe $30.
These are reproduction dials. The one on the left is a very poor quality copy of a rare Ball Watch Company union dial. The real deal would be worth up to $500 in mint condition. The one on the right is a modern reproduction of a Hamilton Watch Company dial. These are worth maybe $40.
Here’s a close up look of the reproduction Hamilton dial on the left and a genuine Hamilton dial on the right. The dials each have three different levels and are referred to as “double sunk” dials. The reproduction uses a die to form the dial profile while the real dial is made up of three different pieces soldered together. The edges on the reproduction dial are not sharp while the ones on the real dial are very sharp.
Here’s a view of the back of the dials. The modern reproduction is printed on one piece of plastic while the real dial can be seen to be made of three pieces. The problem in watch collecting is that there are a few people who will attempt to inflate the value of a watch by putting a reproduction dial on it and passing it off as an original.
These are mint condition glass enamel dials that were made by the Hamilton Watch Company. The ones on the left are for 18 size railroad watches and the one on the right is for an early 16 size Grade 992 railroad watch. Each dial is worth over $100. All of these dials were manufactured over 100 years ago
These dials are in okay condition but have visible defects. The one on the left has a repair just above the 7 where a chip in the enamel was filled in and faint hairline cracks. The one in the middle has repairs to edge chips from the 34-37 and 40-48 minute marks and hairline cracks. The one on the right has hairline cracks and a repair at the 11-12 minute marks (which are missing). The one on the left and center are probably worth $70 and the one on the right maybe $30.
These are reproduction dials. The one on the left is a very poor quality copy of a rare Ball Watch Company union dial. The real deal would be worth up to $500 in mint condition. The one on the right is a modern reproduction of a Hamilton Watch Company dial. These are worth maybe $40.
Here’s a close up look of the reproduction Hamilton dial on the left and a genuine Hamilton dial on the right. The dials each have three different levels and are referred to as “double sunk” dials. The reproduction uses a die to form the dial profile while the real dial is made up of three different pieces soldered together. The edges on the reproduction dial are not sharp while the ones on the real dial are very sharp.
Here’s a view of the back of the dials. The modern reproduction is printed on one piece of plastic while the real dial can be seen to be made of three pieces. The problem in watch collecting is that there are a few people who will attempt to inflate the value of a watch by putting a reproduction dial on it and passing it off as an original.
