Can I wear it every day?

Antique ladies watches lack modern shock absorption and water resistance. A sudden knock against a door frame can snap a balance staff. Dust and moisture easily enter the cases of most pre-war examples. It is usually best to keep them for occasional wear rather than daily use.

My grandmother left me a tiny gold cocktail watch on a black cord strap, but it stops ticking after a few hours. What causes this?

The oils inside a mechanical movement dry out and turn sticky over the decades. This creates friction that stops the gears turning, even when the mainspring holds tension. A watchmaker needs to strip the movement, clean the individual parts and apply fresh oil. Trying to force it to run in its current state can damage the pivots.

Do they keep good time?

A serviced antique watch can keep time to within a few minutes a day. They won't match the precision of a modern quartz movement. Changes in temperature and the physical position of the watch on your wrist will affect the rate.

I have noticed some Victorian watches have no winding knob on the side of the case at all. How on earth do you wind them up?

These are key-wound watches. You have to open the back cover and insert a small, shaped key into a square hole on the movement to tension the mainspring. A second hole in the inner cover usually allows you to set the hands. The keys themselves were often worn on the same chain as the watch.

0

6,198 PAGES BROWSED TODAY PAGES TODAY • 0 ANTIQUES UPLOADED TODAY NEW ARRIVALS

Sorted by

Per page

DEALER LOGIN

0

Saved

Ladies Watches

1940 - 1960

Sort Order

Items Per Page

Antique Watches

Antique Ladies Watches Dated 1940 - 1960

← Page 2 of 2 →

Designed as both functional timekeepers and decorative jewellery, antique ladies watches evolved from heavy pocket and pendant forms into the delicate wrist-worn pieces that dominated the early twentieth century.

No Matches Found

There are no results to show on this page for that combination of filters:
Antique Ladies Watches Dated 1940 - 1960

← 1 2 →

66,727

Antiques For Sale

0

Antiques Approved Today

3,069

Antique Uploads This Month

6,198

Page Views Today

440,777

Total Antiques Sold

Antique Ladies Watches Dated 1940 - 1960

No Matches Found

Add keywords to the filter

Price

Era

Movements

Material

Origin

Stock Location

Freshness

Online Payments

Categories