Expert: Melvin Mills - 7/10/2007

Question
Hi Melvin,
I have inherited an Illinois pocketwatch.  I have 3 questions for you.  First question...what does 11 Jewels mean?  Second question, how can I tell if it's gold, or gold filled.  It looks kind of like rose gold I think.  Would it be marked somewhere? I have looked and can't find anything. And finally, I think it has been wound too tight.  Does that mean it's broken or can it be released?  
Thanks so much!!!!
Rose

Answer
As with any mechanical machine (such as an automobile engine), friction is the enemy. In a car, makers add oil so the metal parts are not grinding up against each other, causing each part to wear away.  In a watch, we add oil so the metal parts are not rubbing up against each other too.  In addition to that, watchmakers put jewels in the movements so the metal gears are not rubbing up against other metal.  This will help the movement lasts longer and keep better time because it cuts down on friction.

The more jewels in a movement, the better the quality of the movement.  When we're talking about antique pocket watches, a movement can have anywhere from 7 J (jewels) to 23 J.
Your watch is not the high-end but it's not the low-end either.  If we assume the watch is in good working order, an 11 jewel movement keeps relatively good time (relative to other antique pocket watches, not modern-day quartz watches).

Only 5% of antique pocket watches were made of solid gold.  All the rest are gold filled or some other type of metal.  If it is solid gold, it will read 14k or 18k on the inside of the back cover.  If you see some type of writing that reads "warranted" or "guaranteed" for a certain number of years, that will be gold filled.  For example, if it reads guaranteed 20 years, that means that the case would be guaranteed to not wear through the gold to the base metal for 20 years.

Although it is very common for people to say a watch has been wound too tight, in reality, that is inaccurate.  There is something preventing the watch from running.  The first thing I would suggest is that you GENTLY move the entire watch in a circular motion clockwise and counterclockwise.  Hold the watch so the winding stem is pointing straight up in the watch dial is facing you.  Now gently turn the watch so the stem goes from nine o'clock to three o'clock. It should only take about one second to get from the nine o'clock position to the three o'clock position.   What you are attempting to do is get the balance wheel moving.  It's not uncommon to have to "jump start" and antique watch.  If that doesn't help, it may just need a good cleaning.