Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-04-17
About Your Watch
BY Frederic ]. Haskln

| end OF It's chain they may be injured. Yet
| most OF us are no more careful OF the
| sensitive temperament and complex mech
aniam of our timcpeccs than we are Of a
| jack knife, purse, or anything else Tint
| goes in our pockets.
We are inclined TO smile pityingIy at the
poor old Mad Halter in Alice in Wonder
land when his watch refuses to 90 after
liberal dose of butter. at was the best
butter" he remarks sadly. This broad
exaggerat,on seems altogether humorous,
but at the same time our own watches may
be as glaring examples of unsuitable treat
mcnt.
We are told not TO drop a baby on its
head, but there is no part OF u watch's
anatomy on which il can fall with safety.
II you can count the number of jars and
knocks your time-kceper has stood, you
know one good reason why you have to
reset the hands go often.
HANDLE WITH CARE.
Then. a good watch doesn't take kindly
to being used as combination tooth
cutter and rattle by the baby II isn't
keen on playing tennis, and IL is apt To get
sulky and keep bad time il yotngo swim
ming with it on your wrist. Every three
years il needs 20 be cleaned up and given
an oil rub by capable repairer NOT by an
9f1Htfbi Win ~ pm. ~ ffflpUs lHHfpniiHH
ii will submit for time, according 70 It's
workmanship, but eventually IL will
-hguratively, OF course and you
may wonder why the trusty timepiece has
suddenly gone back on you.
The degree of care your watch deserves
depends on its value as a time-kecper.
II you merely like to know about.what time
il is, say within an hour, your watch will
stand a certain degree of rough handling,
and continue to'tell YOU the approximate
time. Unfortunately, however, nobody
can tell you just how much you can knock
it about before il will succuInb.
II YOU really want your watch 20 keep
correct time II will pay you 90 see that
your treatment Of IL follows the rules set
down by the time section Of the Bureau Of
Standards The first and most important
of these s regularity. You should wind ~
NJ definite times, preferably IN the morn
ing, though If night Is more convenient. 10
will do almost aa we'll Winding in the
morning il advocated on the ground that
the spring can better stand the changes
and lolts Of daytime use when IL is recently
wound, but whatever system you choose.
stick 10 it The habit Of abscntly giving
the stem few twirls whenever you look at
the time is bad
Along the same line of keeping your
watch on "A schedule IL the effect Of vary
ing positions. The worst place 10 wear
watch II IL Is worn for practical purposes,
Is on a swinging cham, where ~ will
bounce about and bang against the furni-
ture. On the wrist Is as good place az any
for wonans watch, the Bureau Of
Standards says 4 man viii get best re-
suits by carrying his timepieee IN his
pocket in a chamois case TO prevent it
from turning over.
LIKES REGULAR HABITS.
Theoretically, the best position for
watch is horizontal, says Mr.. Beal, time
expert OF the Bureau Of Standards. but
no one can carry his watch that way in the
daytime. The important thing is 70 keep
the treatment unTform--so many hours IN
n pocket each day, and so many hours fiat
each night. II the treatment is systematic,
and the watch will run uniformly then by
regulation you can bring it tn q small rate
of daily change, and il will stay constant.
a watch will run of several minutes IN
u few days for two reasons, he continued
First if it possesses large difference Of
rate IN different positions, and second, II il
is not kept the same number Of hours each
day in its customary positions, the error
will accumulate.
~ good watch will have about ten or
twelve seconds variation between the
slowest and fastest rate III any position
dial up dial down. or any vertical posi-
ton except with the stem down. Quite
frequently we are asked to test watches
for which the position error Is consider
ably above 100 seconds day
The Bureau OF Standards SAYS that few
people buy a watch intelligently. Aneri-
I =. -
curacy and the number of jewels are the
same thing. As a matter OF fact, Mr.. Beal /
points out, the quality of a tlmepiece
depends on the amount OF special work
put ON it, and not entirely on the number
Of Jewels.
Jewels in a watch are bearings for the
shafts OF the wheels, precious stones being
used for this purpose because Of their ex-
trcmc hardness. In some watches only the
most important bearings are jewels, but /
higher-priced models are usually full /
iewelled-that is. all of the bearings are |
tiny garnets, rubies, sapphires, or dia- /
monds
WHAT OF THE JEWELS?
This part of the mechanism Is import /
ant, but no more so than some other parts. /
"A we'll made 17-jewel watch can keep I
better time than 23-iewel one" Mr.. /
Beal says, "but most OF the % jewel /
watches made in the United States receive /
more attention by the manufacturer than /
17-jewel watches. In fact, the only watch +
es that receive the attention necessary to /
make them really accurate timepieces 4
are the large-sized watches usually sold as
railroad watches.
THE accuracy of which a watch is /
capable depends to a large extent on the |
of the parts. The balance +
wheel must be carefully poised, for ex-
ample, and the hairspring accurately /
shaped to a certain ideal. 1t is difficult to /
make a small watch 10 carefully, but it can
be done, and small-Sized mans watch
that will keep good time can be bought
The business man, railroad employe or
any one else who wants timepiece that
be can rely ON is advised TO inquire into the
accuracy of the watch he is buying, rs TO its
difference of rate in various positions and
The Bureau of Standards
suggests that the purchaser of an expen-
sive watch ask the salesman il it has passed
the government test and obtained GER
Iifoate, as many manufacturers and deal
10 be tested, and sell them with their
certificates.
GOVERNMENT TIME TESTS.
The tests mentioned are conducted by
he time section of the bureau beginning
zach week. Any one can send a watch to
DC tested but unless the watch ordinarily
seeps good time it would have small