Reddit mentions: The best collectible clocks & watches books

As everyone has said, 2 timepieces are your best bet. What people aren't saying is timepieces are a personal choice, much like a pocket square or tie. We can give you tons of recommendations (Patek this, Rolex that) but ultimately you need to find what you like. A good starting point would be a few books, like About Time, The Watch or Wristwatch Annual 16.

That said, there are TONS of smaller brands and independent manufacturers that would easy fit within your budget but only someone that is interested in timepieces would know or care about.

If you don't have time, I'm sure someone on here would be happy to get together, learn your personal taste, and arrange a try on session to help you find the right timepiece for you. I know of a shop in my area that would be perfect, but it depends on where you live.

Good luck with the search! Make sure to come back and let us know what you settled on, with pictures of course.

The thing Theory of Horology has over the others is that it is the most straightforward in presenting formulas for the various physics and mechanics at work in a watch. If you are a skilled mechanical engineer then it has what you would need to design a theoretical movement, but it does not really provide practical information about watchmaking and repair. If you're not a skilled engineer, then it's far less valuable and I know I've seen at least some of the equations in it presented elsewhere but not quite as condensed. If you're still interested in it I wish you luck finding it (I think I got the last copy on the internet) as it's a nice looking book, but by no means a necessary textbook.

It's not quite a textbook but I'm currently really enjoying Chronograph: Wristwatches to Stop Time as it has some pretty detailed history of chronographs as well as some great illustrations and photos of a wide array of chronograph movements.

Moebius 9010 is perfect for all the pivot points, but the pros use heavier weight oils like 8200 for the mainspring or other really heavy force stuff like keyless works (sometimes even a grease is used). You could use the lighter stuff, but it won't spread around the mainspring and it might be too lightweight. Worst case is you'll need to clean and oil the watch in 2 years instead of 10.

Oiling is an art. Is the watch clean first? Have you used pith wood to clean all the pivots and such? No point oiling a dirty movement.

And when it comes time to oiling, you use the tip of a tiniest black oiler (like a flattened pin point) to pick up just a little oil, and put it on every pivot. It'll just wet the inside of the jewel hole and the pivot point, NO MORE. Ditto for the non-jeweled pivot holes. For the end-capped mainstaff jewel, take off the cap jewel and oil the jewel under it, then put the cap back on.
There should be a tiny circle of oil AND NO MORE. For escape jewels, just the face of the jewel that slides on the escape wheel.

If you put too much oil, it'll gum up the works, and attract dust. General rule is too little is better than too much.

Edit: For real. Buy this book:

https://www.amazon.com/Watch-Repairers-Manual-Henry-Fried/dp/1626549982

Or find it in the library and check it out right now. Reading it will be a real education. Of course, you can also find youtube videos too. But this is a great reference. For example, it has a whole section on proper oiling techniques.

I'd be more inclined to agree with this point:

> please note that claim that those are made by hand is a little exaggeration - today all those parts that are shown are generally made by high-precision automated machines and are only polished/finished by hand (which is the only thing that the video is claiming or showing) and then assembled by hand

...if it were not for the fact that it is simply stating the obvious. Even the highest grade watches have been mass produced for over 150 years, as this little excerpt from wikipedia mentions while citing Willis I. Milham's 1945 text, Time and Timekeepers.

Fully automatic parts-making machines have been on the scene since the late 1800's. Consequently, your issue with my choice of wording is ironically anachronistic. Anybody who thinks a major watch house like Blancpain is going to literally smelt, pull, and grind their machine components might find a more receptive hearing in /r/trees, imho. I'm pretty sure most people encountering this post are well aware of the fact that a claim of manufacturing a watch "by hand" means something like "putting together the machine parts with one's physical digits as opposed to an automated assembly line."

But, hey, thanks for the feedback. Apologies if this came off as something of a rant... I hate to see great reddits devolve into nitpicking and would be bummed out if this one went that way.

The mechanical Omega's & Tissot's all have value to them. Especially the mechanical multi function watches. I would recommend picking up The Complete Price Guide To Watches. There is a great section on wristwatches in there that should give you an idea of the value. bear in mind, Case wear/scratches, Parts missing (like the crown/stem), corrosion and not running mechanism all decrease the value. Also, the pocket watch section is great as well. According to the book, the year your Pocket watch was made in 1906 based on the 14,306,805 serial number. Good luck!

Hey OP, unfortunately your watch wasn't in the book. BUT, here's some other cool Vulcain watches that were in the book: http://imgur.com/a/YOXrB

If you're interested in the book, it's this: https://smile.amazon.com/1001-Wristwatches-Present-Martin-Haussermann/dp/1405494638

I paid like $12 for a used version in basically mint condition. Well worth the price. Good book to have on a coffee table and a nice conversation piece. Lots of cool watches and photographs along with some history and information about various watch types.

Edit: Wanted to point out, this is not a great reference book if you're thinking about using it as one. It's missing some bits and pieces. For example, for dive watches, there's NO mention of the rather venerable and interesting Vostok Amphibia which imo is a milestone diver's watch due to it's unique design.

Thanks brotha! I hope others get into the hobby. It would be AWESOME to see other redditors posting what they MADE and not just BOUGHT! I grew up in a lower middle class family, and my father always instilled in me to build things rather than buy them to save money, or fix things myself rather than pay someone to do the work I could do if I took a little bit of time to educate myself and learn. Also, buy this damn book: https://www.amazon.com/Beginner-Watchmaking-Build-First-Watch-ebook/dp/B004GNFJ4E/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1493833543&sr=8-2&keywords=watchmaking

This book is an amazing read. It is simple. It explains things incredibly well. I have read it so many times and every little time my eyes open up to something I was confused on with a watch I was working on or something. It's dope.

Well, I don't know if they are dishonest so much as not likely to be knowledgeable (though dishonest wouldn't surprise me). The two most common approaches to estimating the value of a vintage American watch are these:

1. Consulting this popular Price Guide;
   
2. Find comparable watches on eBay and see what they sold for.
   
   But this isn't easy to do for somebody who isn't knowledgeable about antique American watches. With the Price Guide is you often need to know a lot about watches to tell which entry is the correct one for your watch. A similar thing happens with eBay—how do you tell which eBay listings are truly comparable to your watch? Most watch stores don't really have the knowledge to do this.
   
   And the eBay and Price Guide estimates may not agree; you routinely see watches sell on eBay for more or less than the Price Guide price. There is a good reason for this, because they're based on different data: the Price Guide is based on in-person sales in watch collector shows, where the buyer can see many watches in person; eBay is anonymous Internet auctions, where the buyer has to work off photos and descriptions, but also eBay tends to have rarer watches that you don't see that often at shows.
   
   In any case, most vintage American watches, in a gold-filled case, sell for less than $200 in working condition. Elgin, for example, made more than 50 million watches over 100 years, and a lot of them are still around, so they're not rare at all—searching eBay's Antique Pocket Watches category for sold "Elgin" listings yields more than 12,000 hits, and most of them in fact are under $100.
   
   The Illinois Watch Company was much smaller than Elgin, and their watches tend to be a bit more valuable, but not necessarily a lot; the eBay search yields some 3,000 sales, with a lot more watches in the $200-$700 range, but still many under $100.
   
   Solid gold sells for quite a bit more—the value of the gold in a solid gold case normally far exceeds the value of the watch mechanism.

Have you spoken with her about this idea, or are you intending to surprise her?

Speaking only for myself, I think his & hers watches is a bit tacky, and it's possible she might feel the same. I'd recommend making sure she feels the same way as you do about matching jewelry.

Another thing to consider is that if she is not particularly interested in watches, she might prefer a quartz watch to a mechanical one. Women are notorious for not wanting to tolerate a watch that needs as much attention as a mechanical. If she's never worn a mechanical watch before, maybe it would be good to buy her a Seiko 5 or something just to test if she likes having a mechanical watch before investing that much money on a pair of watches.

All that being said, if everything's a go, I'd suggest taking a look at:

• Rolex Datejusts
  
• JLC Reversos (ladies versions are available in quartz)
  
• Ulysse Nardin Classico/Classico Luna
  
• I know a couple that wear his & hers Omega Seamasters. She actually wears a men's midsize, and he wears the full-size.
  
  I also think that selecting a watch for a woman requires more careful consideration than it is for a man. I wrote a few words once about this problem if you want to know more.
  
  Another way to look at this problem is to shop for her first, and then try and find a watch for you to match that. You could pick up a copy of Wristwatch Annual and you can flip through it together to see what she likes. She might learn to appreciate some of the lesser known brands, which will increase your selection.
  

That is precisely the attitude you should have when you want to begin learning. My pick for the best book to use as a basic primer is The Watch Repairer's Manual. After reading and understanding the first few chapters, you'll want to start building up your toolkit. I suggest a decent but relatively cheap set of French screwdrivers, a general purpose AM style brass tweezer for handling bridges and larger wheels/parts, and an anti-magnetic #3 tweezer for smaller parts. Loupes, a couple of other tweezers, and other tools will follow in due course. I'm only too happy to throw my two cents in, if you're interested. Finally, I highly suggest not starting by working on working watches. The watchmaker that taught me used to say "Entropy only flows in one direction" when asked why we started by working on old junky corroded watches. Broken or junky watches can generally be bought for very little money singly, and sometimes even in small lots of ten or more. You should look at as many different movements as you can in order to familiarize yourself with how the parts are laid out. Don't be afraid of the tiny ladies watches either. If you can work on them, you can definitely work on the normal sized men's watches. They're not more difficult, just smaller.

Much more likely to have success by starting on a pocket watch movement over a wristwatch movement.

Elgin 12size to 16size, 17jewel, or similar would be much easier to work with, & with plenty to be found for $50 & under.

Youtube is a good resource, if you like learning via video, or "The Watch Repairer's Manual" by Fried;
https://www.amazon.com/Watch-Repairers-Manual-Henry-Fried/dp/1626549982/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=freid+watchmaking&qid=1574838444&sr=8-1-spell

I always recommend The Mastery of Time as an intro to watches, watch making, and horology in general.

Lots of beautiful pictures and easy to read with a huge amount of references.

Watch making as in buying premade parts and putting them together? If so I can recommend this book. For only $15 it gives pretty good details on how to do this and I will be trying it eventually.

If you mean making all the gears and whatnot by hand than that is a whole other story.

Spare parts availability is a biggie for sure.

I started with a manual wind Sellita because it was a nice balance of quality and price... but more importantly brand new parts were readily available from Otto Frei.

I could have started out cheaper or on potentially worn out movements but being able to use easy to find brand new replacement parts was a nice convenience.

For example, a lot of older Seiko 5s have a worn out bushing and suitable replacements are not available. The best you could do is scrap one from another movement. The problem with that is donor movements have most likely worn out the same part also. To fix it you need to get creative with some specialized tools which really complicates things when you are first learning.

It looks like you are already underway so if you haven't already you should pick up a copy of these books. If you only get one then, anecdotally speaking anyway, I reference Fried's book the most. However, they are both worth it if you can afford it.

https://www.amazon.com/Watch-Repairers-Manual-Henry-Fried/dp/1626549982

https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Watch-Repairing-Donald-Carle/dp/1602393575

Here are all the local Amazon links I could find:


amazon.co.uk

amazon.ca

amazon.com.au

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amazon.es

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amazon.nl

amazon.co.jp

amazon.fr

Beep bloop. I'm a bot to convert Amazon ebook links to local Amazon sites.
I currently look here: amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca, amazon.com.au, amazon.in, amazon.com.mx, amazon.de, amazon.it, amazon.es, amazon.com.br, amazon.nl, amazon.co.jp, amazon.fr, if you would like your local version of Amazon adding please contact my creator.

It was a Christmas gift from my mom. You can find it on Amazon Wristwatch Annual 2017: The Catalog of Producers, Prices, Models, and Specifications https://www.amazon.com/dp/0789212625/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_wpkzybEWJAD2Z

It's well worth it IMHO

Big Ben: The Great Clock and the Bells at the Palace of Westminster

http://www.amazon.com/George-Daniels-Master-Watchmaker-His/dp/0500516367
this is the one i really had in mind, a beautiful book.
http://www.worldcat.org/title/masters-of-contemporary-watchmaking/oclc/317919514

I read the following websites frequently:

• Hodinkee
  
• aBlogtoWatch
  
• rolex forums (very active and knowledgeable...more than just rolex)
  
• askmen.com-watch snob
  
• Literally visit every brand watch website. Most are over in the brand guide
  
  Find watches for sales:
  
  
• Chrono24
  
• Prestige Time
  
• ElementinTime
  
• Jomas Shop
  
• Luxury Bazaar
  
  
  Buy this book on Amazon:
  
  
• Wristwatch Annual 2013: The Catalog of Producers, Prices, Models, and Specifications
  

Try the Complete Price Guide to Watches 2014 (even last years will be fine), this has a lot of great educational info in the front of the book as well.

The movement is the whole unit inside the watch case that actually keeps time. If its a swiss movement it was made in switzerland. Maybe a few parts (gears) could have been made elsewhere but assembled and primarily built there.

Complications can be different on each watch and you may have to start to get more specific in your research to learn specific complications for specific watches if thats what youre asking.

Not complete re: the really high end models and private labels. But the first 100 pages of general info are valuable to even a novice collector or watchmaker.

[here](Complete Price Guide to Watches 2013 http://www.amazon.com/dp/0982948727/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_awd_2JMOrb1A265AX)

Yeah, almost $300!

Again, just link to one, it shouldn't be that hard if they're all over the place, but I couldn't find any from a simple "Expensive watches book" google or search on amazon

I'd go with the Complete price guide to watches. http://www.amazon.ca/Complete-Price-Guide-Watches-2014/dp/0982948735 it covers american and European watches, gives you information and prices for most watches, even lists serial numbers to help you date your watches.

There are lots of books on the subject, like Cult Watches, and Vintage Wristwatches.

1001 watches from 1925 to today

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1405494638

I think it doesn't get better than The Mastery of Time. It's very beefy, and has everything you'd ever want to know about a lot of timepieces and a lot of technical innovations behind watchmaking.