Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-09-12
SOME Old TINE WATCHES
QUAINT TIME PIECES OF MORE
dHANA CENTURY AGO.

fhe Difference Between Them AZ" IN"
Modern stem Wtnder - Relics That
Ave Been Handed Down for Many
en.rstions and Find Their way into
jewellers show CSses-Fine Chasing
and Engraving of Cases on Two Hun
dred Queer Old Time keepers.
"Tne od-fashioned watches were curl
Gus things" said one of 5. Z. Hamilton
experts Yesterday. They were not nuch
more like modern watch in shape than
q turnip is like a tomato. To skilled
matchmaker ofwto-day they seem lear
fully and wonderfully made. The chas-
ing was wonderfully elaborate, the quaint
designs being taken from Scripture ana
mythology, and produced in miniature
with a detail and perfection that art now
rarely equals and never eNcels. Two
hundred wears ago a watch was consid-
cred as dong we'll ii it did not gain or lose
more than ten minutes in tWenty-Iour
hours.
"FLeve is one made by Norton, of Lon
don, nearly $50 years ago" said the gem
tleman. reaching into case after curl
Gus looking old silver time piece. It's BACK
and face were both protected by glass and
the works and movement could be seen
through the back. Whoever Norton made
the watcn for probably had a large family
OF children, for the watch was just the
kind of one that would delight little
folks who are always wanting papa to
show them the internal machinery OF his
stemwBder.
"Just hole that old one to one ear and
put this modern one at The other ear"
suggest ed Mr.. Hamilton, handing out
gold stop watch. The centenRrian. with
Its big balance wheel, clicked off the sec
Dnds in an eXasperanngly deliberate way,
while the latest improved tucked away as
II ii was an hour or two behind time ana
had to run all It's might to catch up.
Those TWO watches illustrate the diff
ference in the way people moved then and
now" remarked the gentleman. This
modern one ticks about SIX times while
the old watch is ticking once. Folks in
those days did not have to catch trains
and board steamboats, in hurry, and
lew minutes variation WAS not considered
heinOus fault. OF course there were no
stem-wnders 100 years ago, and can I'M
agine Norton explaining this improve
ment for setting the hands" he added as
he opened the aged time piece and worked
the hands by little wheel that was al
most concealed.
''some Of ne gold watches of 200 years
ago" were superb, he continued. Some
of the finest were of about the diameter
of a lady's gold watch of to-day, and per-
haps had on the outer case magntf-
cent representation Of Cleopatra receIy-
Ing the homage of her subjects. or some
other historical or NEUROLOGICAL event
may have been tae subject. The cnaslng
on those old cases can be examined I'M
der the microscope without showing q
blemish. Every figure in a numerous
group was correctly proportiOned and
moulded with spirit.
Another old watch was wound with a
clumsy sort of a key and it started off as
merrily as If it had not stopped for the
best part of a century. The tiny chain
dragged its length over the shining
wheels; the hair spring opened
and closed and the escape
wheel began its regular motion. 1t
licked in feeble, protesting sort of
fashion as If IT were very drOwsy and dis
liked being walked up. An old silver
watch was shown, the subject upon the
outer case being the Flight into
Egypt" and tue donkey, with the
ID adonna and the Christ child seated
upon 1t, looked natural enough to kick off
the Palestine flies that seemed to be
boihsrng it. The trees and the shrub
berry in this scene We're marvel0usly well
done, and Joseph, a sturdy Hebrew, was
stridlng along beside the donkey.
The engraver had taken for his subject
on another watch the Temptation OF st.
Anthony" The engraving was "a master
piece OF art, but the Temptation was
no better clad than In the modern pictures
in which she is attired IN the costume of
the mode worn by the fair Godiva when
she rode through Coventry.