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MACRO: Inside my father's beautiful watch

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Dave Geyer

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My Father served in the U.S. Flying Navy during WWII. He obtained this watch in 1946 when it was declared obsolete. It is an aircraft navigational pocket watch. The outside is very plain (military), but the inside is a beautiful 23 jewel Waltham Vanguard 16 size two tone movement, made in 1929.

The jewels are just discernable: they are red rubies and can be seen set into the circular objects near the middle. They function as bushings for the staffs (axles) of the wheels (gears). They are not decoration; the point of them is that they will never wear out.

Dad gave me this watch 3 years ago, and I had it cleaned and oiled right away. It is running perfectly. The movement is about 2 inches in diameter, and this photo is contained well within that area. The plates are fully damaskeened, nickel plated, engraved with the writing, and then the writing is gold plated. The wheels that appear yellowish are gold plated to avoid corrosion.

Nikon CP880 in macro mode, small aperture, long shutter on a tripod with self timer, ISO 100, WB set to cloudy daylight. Lighting is a window with various white objects reflecting fill, evened out in Photoshop. The watch was running when the picture was taken, so the large wheel in the bottom right center (the balance wheel) is just a blur as it moves quite quickly in a reciprocal motion.

I'll bet there are some people here who are not old enough to remember what American manufacturers were capable of in the heyday of machine made mechanical goods. Remember, this is the inside of the watch - no one normally even sees it. I dare say no one anywhere in the world today makes anything mechanical that looks like this!

Any and all comments welcome as always. ;-)

 
Dave,

This is a beautiful shot! Is the blue tint the actual color in the gearing or is that due to the white balance setting? Anyway, a very interesting shot.

Tom
Dave Geyer said:
My Father served in the U.S. Flying Navy during WWII. He obtained
this watch in 1946 when it was declared obsolete. It is an aircraft
navigational pocket watch. The outside is very plain (military),
but the inside is a beautiful 23 jewel Waltham Vanguard 16 size two
tone movement, made in 1929.

The jewels are just discernable: they are red rubies and can be
seen set into the circular objects near the middle. They function
as bushings for the staffs (axles) of the wheels (gears). They are
not decoration; the point of them is that they will never wear out.

Dad gave me this watch 3 years ago, and I had it cleaned and oiled
right away. It is running perfectly. The movement is about 2 inches
in diameter, and this photo is contained well within that area. The
plates are fully damaskeened, nickel plated, engraved with the
writing, and then the writing is gold plated. The wheels that
appear yellowish are gold plated to avoid corrosion.

Nikon CP880 in macro mode, small aperture, long shutter on a tripod
with self timer, ISO 100, WB set to cloudy daylight. Lighting is a
window with various white objects reflecting fill, evened out in
Photoshop. The watch was running when the picture was taken, so the
large wheel in the bottom right center (the balance wheel) is just
a blur as it moves quite quickly in a reciprocal motion.

I'll bet there are some people here who are not old enough to
remember what American manufacturers were capable of in the heyday
of machine made mechanical goods. Remember, this is the inside of
the watch - no one normally even sees it. I dare say no one
anywhere in the world today makes anything mechanical that looks
like this!

Any and all comments welcome as always. ;-)

Click to expand...
 
Thanks Tom! The wheels that are not gold plated are steel, polished in the white (no finish on them), which means they essentially have no color other than what is reflected in them, like a chrome bumper on a car. I played with the color balance in Photoshop a little bit to try to get a balance. Some of the metalic surfaces have a blue cast, some a warm cast, but they all have no real intrinsic color of their own. Of course, this is on my monitor. I don't know what it may look like on anyone elses! I do use the color managing features in Photoshop, and my monitor matches my printer pretty well, but when I send an image out into the world at large, well, who knows?

Tell me, do all the neutral surfaces look blueish to you, or just the large wheel in the upper left center? Thanks!

Regards,

Dave Geyer
Tom Stovall said:
Dave,

This is a beautiful shot! Is the blue tint the actual color in the
gearing or is that due to the white balance setting? Anyway, a
very interesting shot.
Click to expand...
 
Great macro! and sounds like an amazing watch, that will last forever.

My Grandmother left me her late husband's Waltham Pocket watch, probably purchased in the 20's. I should really get it cleaned/oiled.
Dave Geyer said:
My Father served in the U.S. Flying Navy during WWII. He obtained
this watch in 1946 when it was declared obsolete. It is an aircraft
navigational pocket watch. The outside is very plain (military),
but the inside is a beautiful 23 jewel Waltham Vanguard 16 size two
tone movement, made in 1929.

The jewels are just discernable: they are red rubies and can be
seen set into the circular objects near the middle. They function
as bushings for the staffs (axles) of the wheels (gears). They are
not decoration; the point of them is that they will never wear out.

Dad gave me this watch 3 years ago, and I had it cleaned and oiled
right away. It is running perfectly. The movement is about 2 inches
in diameter, and this photo is contained well within that area. The
plates are fully damaskeened, nickel plated, engraved with the
writing, and then the writing is gold plated. The wheels that
appear yellowish are gold plated to avoid corrosion.

Nikon CP880 in macro mode, small aperture, long shutter on a tripod
with self timer, ISO 100, WB set to cloudy daylight. Lighting is a
window with various white objects reflecting fill, evened out in
Photoshop. The watch was running when the picture was taken, so the
large wheel in the bottom right center (the balance wheel) is just
a blur as it moves quite quickly in a reciprocal motion.
Click to expand...
 
Gary wrote:
Great picture..lighting, composition...also
wonderful to see something refreshingly different!
Steve Mason said:
My Grandmother left me her late husband's Waltham Pocket watch,
probably purchased in the 20's. I should really get it
cleaned/oiled.
Dave Geyer said:
My Father served in the U.S. Flying Navy during WWII. He obtained
this watch in 1946 when it was declared obsolete. It is an aircraft
navigational pocket watch. The outside is very plain (military),
but the inside is a beautiful 23 jewel Waltham Vanguard 16 size two
tone movement, made in 1929.

The jewels are just discernable: they are red rubies and can be
seen set into the circular objects near the middle. They function
as bushings for the staffs (axles) of the wheels (gears). They are
not decoration; the point of them is that they will never wear out.

Dad gave me this watch 3 years ago, and I had it cleaned and oiled
right away. It is running perfectly. The movement is about 2 inches
in diameter, and this photo is contained well within that area. The
plates are fully damaskeened, nickel plated, engraved with the
writing, and then the writing is gold plated. The wheels that
appear yellowish are gold plated to avoid corrosion.

Nikon CP880 in macro mode, small aperture, long shutter on a tripod
with self timer, ISO 100, WB set to cloudy daylight. Lighting is a
window with various white objects reflecting fill, evened out in
Photoshop. The watch was running when the picture was taken, so the
large wheel in the bottom right center (the balance wheel) is just
a blur as it moves quite quickly in a reciprocal motion.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Dave Geyer wrote:
motion.
Member said:
I'll bet there are some people here who are not old enough to
remember what American manufacturers were capable of in the heyday
of machine made mechanical goods. Remember, this is the inside of
the watch - no one normally even sees it. I dare say no one
anywhere in the world today makes anything mechanical that looks
like this!

Any and all comments welcome as always. ;-)
Click to expand...
Beautiful shot Dave, great old watch. Actually, there still are a fair number of manufacturers who make watches and other precise mechanical instruments which have the "touch" of this watch, but most of them are not in the US. The incredible Swiss watchmakers still turn out incredible and beautiful movements - even the relatively inexpensive Rolex is an absolute marvel inside, though most of us never get to see the works. Some of the most expensive Swiss watches are absolutely incredible in their beauty and detail in the movements - some cost over $100,000 US, and it's not just diamonds and gold....

Lin
 
Member said:
Lin Evans wrote:
some cost over $100,000 US,
Click to expand...
I guess I got a bargain then - free. My father got it for free also. Believe it or not the Navy was about to destroy several of these watches! Obsolete, you know. The guy that was supposed to run a steam roller over them (that's right - a steam roller) didn't have the heart to do it, so he "liberated" them instead, and passed them around. He was subordinate to my Dad, so Dad got one.
 
Thanks Steve! Sounds like you got a nice treasure from your grandparents' estate. If you're going to run it, you should get it serviced. Running it dry can do damage over time.

Regards,

Dave Geyer
Member said:
Steve Mason wrote:
Great macro! and sounds like an amazing watch, that will last
forever.

My Grandmother left me her late husband's Waltham Pocket watch,
probably purchased in the 20's. I should really get it
cleaned/oiled.
Click to expand...
 
Beautiful shot and story!
Dave Geyer said:
My Father served in the U.S. Flying Navy during WWII. He obtained
this watch in 1946 when it was declared obsolete. It is an aircraft
navigational pocket watch. The outside is very plain (military),
but the inside is a beautiful 23 jewel Waltham Vanguard 16 size two
tone movement, made in 1929.

The jewels are just discernable: they are red rubies and can be
seen set into the circular objects near the middle. They function
as bushings for the staffs (axles) of the wheels (gears). They are
not decoration; the point of them is that they will never wear out.

Dad gave me this watch 3 years ago, and I had it cleaned and oiled
right away. It is running perfectly. The movement is about 2 inches
in diameter, and this photo is contained well within that area. The
plates are fully damaskeened, nickel plated, engraved with the
writing, and then the writing is gold plated. The wheels that
appear yellowish are gold plated to avoid corrosion.

Nikon CP880 in macro mode, small aperture, long shutter on a tripod
with self timer, ISO 100, WB set to cloudy daylight. Lighting is a
window with various white objects reflecting fill, evened out in
Photoshop. The watch was running when the picture was taken, so the
large wheel in the bottom right center (the balance wheel) is just
a blur as it moves quite quickly in a reciprocal motion.

I'll bet there are some people here who are not old enough to
remember what American manufacturers were capable of in the heyday
of machine made mechanical goods. Remember, this is the inside of
the watch - no one normally even sees it. I dare say no one
anywhere in the world today makes anything mechanical that looks
like this!

Any and all comments welcome as always. ;-)

Click to expand...
 
Dave Geyer said:
I guess I got a bargain then - free. My father got it for free
also. Believe it or not the Navy was about to destroy several of
these watches! Obsolete, you know. The guy that was supposed to run
a steam roller over them (that's right - a steam roller) didn't
Click to expand...
Ahh yes the old oxymoron: "Military Intelligence"
 
That is simply amazing! What a great watch, and amazingingly clear picture to compliment it.

nc
Member said:
My Father served in the U.S. Flying Navy during WWII. He obtained
this watch in 1946 when it was declared obsolete. It is an aircraft
navigational pocket watch. The outside is very plain (military),
but the inside is a beautiful 23 jewel Waltham Vanguard 16 size two
tone movement, made in 1929.

The jewels are just discernable: they are red rubies and can be
seen set into the circular objects near the middle. They function
as bushings for the staffs (axles) of the wheels (gears). They are
not decoration; the point of them is that they will never wear out.

Dad gave me this watch 3 years ago, and I had it cleaned and oiled
right away. It is running perfectly. The movement is about 2 inches
in diameter, and this photo is contained well within that area. The
plates are fully damaskeened, nickel plated, engraved with the
writing, and then the writing is gold plated. The wheels that
appear yellowish are gold plated to avoid corrosion.

Nikon CP880 in macro mode, small aperture, long shutter on a tripod
with self timer, ISO 100, WB set to cloudy daylight. Lighting is a
window with various white objects reflecting fill, evened out in
Photoshop. The watch was running when the picture was taken, so the
large wheel in the bottom right center (the balance wheel) is just
a blur as it moves quite quickly in a reciprocal motion.

I'll bet there are some people here who are not old enough to
remember what American manufacturers were capable of in the heyday
of machine made mechanical goods. Remember, this is the inside of
the watch - no one normally even sees it. I dare say no one
anywhere in the world today makes anything mechanical that looks
like this!

Any and all comments welcome as always. ;-)

Click to expand...
 
Hi Dave. Thank you for sharing the story and the great shot!
Nina
Dave Geyer said:
My Father served in the U.S. Flying Navy during WWII. He obtained
this watch in 1946 when it was declared obsolete. It is an aircraft
navigational pocket watch. The outside is very plain (military),
but the inside is a beautiful 23 jewel Waltham Vanguard 16 size two
tone movement, made in 1929.

The jewels are just discernable: they are red rubies and can be
seen set into the circular objects near the middle. They function
as bushings for the staffs (axles) of the wheels (gears). They are
not decoration; the point of them is that they will never wear out.

Dad gave me this watch 3 years ago, and I had it cleaned and oiled
right away. It is running perfectly. The movement is about 2 inches
in diameter, and this photo is contained well within that area. The
plates are fully damaskeened, nickel plated, engraved with the
writing, and then the writing is gold plated. The wheels that
appear yellowish are gold plated to avoid corrosion.

Nikon CP880 in macro mode, small aperture, long shutter on a tripod
with self timer, ISO 100, WB set to cloudy daylight. Lighting is a
window with various white objects reflecting fill, evened out in
Photoshop. The watch was running when the picture was taken, so the
large wheel in the bottom right center (the balance wheel) is just
a blur as it moves quite quickly in a reciprocal motion.

I'll bet there are some people here who are not old enough to
remember what American manufacturers were capable of in the heyday
of machine made mechanical goods. Remember, this is the inside of
the watch - no one normally even sees it. I dare say no one
anywhere in the world today makes anything mechanical that looks
like this!

Any and all comments welcome as always. ;-)

Click to expand...
 
Hi Dave,

The story is great, realy very fine, full of deeper feelings, no not about the watch itself, but about you have got this from your father, somehow it's part of him, no it isn't, but the feeling of the moment he gave it to you well that's him reaching over to you and maybe it's some kind of unspoken words. well we can have such moments between fathers and sons. No words needed, all just in one guesture.

Now about the photograph. Well I think it's a real beaty, it's just as fine as the rubins. Don't ever try to covert it to B/W, as I will come and hunt you as a polter geist. I do realy like it very, very much.

jacques
 
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