Just got this pocket watch sent to me for repair (probable broken mainspring). I was contacted by an old high school buddy whose son inherited the watch. It was given to him this past Easter by his Great Uncle, who said it belonged to his Great Grandfather, a man named Henry Goode Claiborne. The Illinois Watch Company "Bunn Special" is a highly collectable railroad pocket watch. This one is a stem wind / lever set movement - which is set by opening the front crystal and bezel and pulling out the setting-lever. Once the lever is pulled out, the crown can be turned to set the time. The lever is then pushed back in and the crystal and bezel are 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. The serial number indicates that this watch was manufactured in 1902. 93,100,58,0,B
My grandparents owned a antique store for many, many years and my grandpa had a large display case full of pocket watches and pocket knives and old straight razors. Never tried repairing them but certainly enjoyed helping my grandpa clean them up for display. Good on you for keeping the old things functioning.
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