James R Luff.

James Luff worked for Duckworth Turner & Co ,footwear manufacturers in Christchurch. He worked at the turn of the century. 1909 till 1926. On his retirement the company gave him a gold pocket watch engraved on the dust lid, in recognition of his service.

The watch is a bit of an enigma and its story a little uncertain in what was very uncertain times. His working life encompassing WW1.

The Watch

This is a 16 size  American open face triple hinged case made by the Waltham Watch Case Company . It is serial numbered 237438 stamped .750 Fine. 18 karat solid gold made in Canada.

The movement is a generic Swiss made Bar movement carrying no makers mark or serial numbers on the plates. It is stamped jewels and three adjustments. The movement is nickel plated and engine turned decoration. The balance carries a micrometer  snail regulator. The Train bridge is engraved Rolex Lever

Rolex may have outsourced production to a third party during the war, but if it was produced in house it would of had their markings on the main plate, train bridge and their Swiss code RLX on the balance bridge. It would also of had a serial number attached. Again it should be stressed these were very frugal times and a solid gold watch was a great luxury. International duties and supply problems made it difficult to obtain any luxury items.

Condition

The watch arrived in good cosmetic condition. It had been sitting unused for most of its life in a drawer somewhere. The case is in superb condition with no dents or major scratches. The hinges are very tight and alignment of the case covers great. The bow was missing. The second hand missing. The crystal is a plastic replacement. The correct size but has deteriorated over time. The movement is clean, bright and shows no wear, however many decades since it was serviced if ever meant dried oil and residue was evident.

Servicing

The movement is removed from the case. The hands and dial removed and stored.

A new bow is sourced from stock, it is a blank and the ends reduced in size to fit.

It is hallmarked with a makers mark in solid gold. Probably 9 Karat.

The crystal  is discarded and a period thicker glass crystal fitted again from stock.

The case has a light hand polish only.

The movement is then completely disassembled. The escape wheel was completely jammed in its pivot hole due to dried congealed oil and dirt. It also had traces of light rust. Upon reassembly it was evident that the pivot had broken off left inside the jewel. The watch was chemically cleaned, reassembled, oiled and timed. The escape wheel was replaced from a donor movement. Its pivots were oversized and were taken down to size on the lathe.

The dial had a light clean to not to interfere with the with the luminous paint on the numerals. The hands had lost their luminous completely and have been resumed with a modern equivalent dyed to colour match.

The movement re-cased and timed. Below is a picture of my vintage bow cutter.

Cost

NOS Crystal.                               $  40

NOS Bow.                                    $  135

Replacement escape wheel.    $   40

NOS Seconds hand.                  $   20

Service                                         $   60

Total.                                            $  295

Valuation

This is a family piece intended as an heirloom.

Whether the movement is attributed to Rolex or not makes an appreciable difference to the resale value of this watch. However it is still a high grade movement in superb condition in a solid gold case that is in pristine condition.

You could not expect to be able to replace this watch with anything similar for less than $7000.