The times., 1901-04-21
COLLECTING OLD TIMEPIECES.
A New Fad Tint Has Taken Possess
sion of BOstOn.
(From the Brooklyn Eagle.)

tfr0m the brooklyn EdSle-l
Boston has a new fad 1t is the eOllec-
tlou of old watches.
BOStOnian antiquarianiSm has always
been somewhat diSsimilar to New York'S
taste for relics. While the market in this
city for pictures. china, and pottery has
been a lucrative one for dealers it seems
that the collecting of old watches is
confined almost TO Boston. The Hub and
Richmond, Va. have always been head
quarters for antique furniture. The finest
collections of Colonial furniture are
centred about Boston. while most of the
valuable furniture from the old Southern
estates has been gathered at Richmond.
Mr.. Talbot. manager of a watch com
pany in Manhattan. has been doing a
land Office business in supplying the BoS-
ton demand for ancient timepieces since
the available supply of that city became
exhausted. He will buy any watch. re-
gardless OF it's value as a time-keeper.
provided it possesses the desired anti
quarian merits. Some very fancy prices
have been paid by him for old watches
that are absolutely worthless aside from
their uniqueness of design and rarity of
make. but the larger part of antique
timepieces are worth TO the dealer or
collector from SO to $50 Even this price
may be obtained if the case and works
have not 30 cents worth of intrinsic val
ue. A collection of watches is one of the
most difficult to gather from the fact that
il has always been the custom of Jewell
ers and pawnbrOkerS to melt the cases
and disintegrate the works. using such
parts as possessed value in the construc-
tiOn of new watches. Mr.. Talbot says
that he himself followed this course for
years before he discovered the eXtrinSiC
value of old watches. and that he has
melted bushels of cases that he would be
very glad to have in his possession at
present.
1t is essential that the dealer in. or the
collector of, old timepieces should be ia
miliar with the history OF watches and the
different early makers in order 10 protect
himself in buying and selling specimens.
This is not q very difficult knowledge to
acquire from the fact that nearly all early
Eatchmakers used "A different model, and
a specimen OF their handicraft is easily de-
tected by one who is accustomed to exam
inc old watches. \ knowledge of the diff
fereut dates of inventions is also valuable
readily determine the age of a timepieCe.
For instance, a watch containing a bal
ance spring must have been made subse-
Quently TO l65S TOR this is the date OF the
invention OF that device. There are very
few, if any. American watches that pos
Sess value for the collector. The begin
ming of the watch industry in this country
was nearly Identical with the manufacture
OF timepieCes by machinery and in this
way so many of each kind were made that
none have any eXtrinsic worth.
The collector of watches, il he is
familiar with the makes and the history
of matchmaking, runs little risk of being
imposed upon by limitations or counter
feits Nearly every early European
matchmaker used a model peculiar to him
self and his inscription Will invariably
be found on the inside of the back cover.
This was done so that the maker could
identify his own watches, but especially
So that none but himself could repair
them. AS all the respective parts were
made differently by each maker. ii was
impossible to substitute the wheel OF one
make for a similar wheel in another
make. In this way the maker was as
sured Of a large business in repairing as
soon as he had few watches In use
NAr Il. Frasf fsFgs sfaf 700 ard
ing the work was inscribed I'm detail on
the inside of the case. and these lnScrlp-
tions add greatly to the interest of old
Watches for collectors, In many instances
the inscriptions of the repairs made to
the timepiece form a very good history
of it's travels and owners
IL was the great expense OF repairing
that first suggested the idea to Aaron l..
Dennison. of Boston. OF making watches
by machinery. thus producing great
many parts alike. and So cheapening re-
pairing through the interchangeable parts
1t was not until 1919 that this idea was
nprfected and year later factory was
built at point near what is now known
as Boston Highlands The business and
the factory continued TO grow, and when
il had been in operation about three years
il WIS moved to Waltham. about ten
miles from Boston, on the Charles River
From this small beginning mas grown the
American WaItham Watch Company,
which in 1895 made 7.0O.OO0 watch move
ments Perhaps it is this proximity 20
Boston of So large a matchmaking in
dustry and the fact that the idea of the
American movement was first conceived
in that city that suggested the idea OF
watch collecting TO the modern Athenians
In passing il may be remarked that every
firm without exception. that has gone
into the matchmaking business i'm this
has met with financial difficulties
The finest collection of watches in the
world is owned by Evan Roberts. of Eng
land. a part of whose collection was eX-
hfbited at the Columbian Exposition by
The Waltham Watch Company. There is
also a very fine collection owned In Ger
many by Carl Marfels.