Waltham Watch Company Vanguard

Waltham Vanguard Railroad Pocket Watch | 23 Jewel, Up/Down Wind Indicator, Silver Case

Some of the highest quality pocketwatches were equipped with a "wind-indicator" also called an "up-down indicator". The up-down indicator is a small dial indicating the amount of "power reserve" left in the wound mainspring. Most up-down indicators have a scale that points to zero when the watch is fully wound and then gradually indicates to a higher number as the watch runs down. This can be thought of as the number of hours that have elapsed since the watch was last wound. You should always stop winding when the needle on the indicator reaches zero. On most watches, it's possible to wind a little past the zero mark, but the spring was "set-up" to provide the best time-keeping by stopping at zero. Similarly, you should wind the watch before it drops below the 30 mark to keep it operating in the "middle of the mainspring". Up-down indicator watches are somewhat rare and are highly-prized by collectors. Details: MAKE Manufacturer: Waltham Model: Vanguard Country: USA Type: Man's Serial #: 23152426 Circa Date: 1919 CASE Size: 16 Size. Style: Open Face. Material: Sterling Silver. Decorations: Machined. Conditions: C 3 (The case is in Very Good condition) DIAL Color: White. Type: Single Sunk Porcelain Dial. Numerals: Arabic Numerals. Hands: Spade Hands. Conditions: D 3 (The dial is in Very Good condition) MOVEMENT Jewels: 23 Jewels. Setting: Lever Set. Stem-wind, Lever-Set Movements Mandatory for all railroad watches after roughly 1908, this kind of pocket watch was set by opening the crystal and bezel and pulling out the setting-lever (most hunter cases have levers accessible without removing the crystal or bezel), which was generally found at either the 10 or 2 o'clock positions on open-faced watches, and at 5:00 on hunting cased watches. Once the lever was pulled out, the crown could be turned to set the time. The lever was then pushed back in and the crystal and bezel were closed over the dial again. This method of time setting on pocket watches was preferred by American and Canadian railroads, as lever setting watches make accidental time changes impossible. After 1908, lever setting was generally required for new watches entering service on American railroads. Escapement: Lever Escapement. Material: Nickel. Layout: Layout. Signed: Yes. Conditions: M 3 (The movement is in Very Good condition)