# Trustworthy pocket watch brands



## ticktockuk (Oct 11, 2010)

I'm in the market for a new pocket watch - up to £100
I'm looking for either a quartz with date feature or a mechanical one, both would be in silver. What I'm not sure of is what brands have a good reputation.
I'm partiuclarly interested in:

Mount Royal
Rapport
Colibri

Are these reputable and reliable companies?

For example, these two watches look very similar except one is gold plated. SO am I paying double to get a gold plated case?
RAPPORT GOLD PLATED POLISHED SWISS QUARTZ OPEN FACE POCKET WATCH PW78 | Greenwich Pocket Watch Company - Top branded Pocket Watches from the Greenwich Pocket Watch Company
MOUNT ROYAL SWISS CHROME PLATED QUARTZ OPEN FACE POCKET WATCH B30C | Greenwich Pocket Watch Company - Top branded Pocket Watches from the Greenwich Pocket Watch Company

I love wearing a pocket watch but my last one has just broken, feel lost without it really.


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## Eeeb (Jul 12, 2007)

None of these watches are from established watch companies. But I suspect the quartz movement in the two you mention is the same, the only difference is the gold plating vs the chrome plating.

Good luck.


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## Marrick (May 2, 2007)

Colibri is primarily a cigarette lighter manufacturer. The other 2 are recent brands. Although I see that Rapport watches say 'Est. 1898' on the dial, the brand is not listed in any of the usual places. A lot of defunct brands have been revived by Far East companies to give 'heritage' to their products. As Eeeb says, the movements may well be identical in different brands.

Sekonda make quartz watches with Japanese movements which are available for around £30; but don't have date windows. Most of the mechanical watches available new nowadays have Chinese movements, and may or may not be a good investment. Tissot still makes them with quality Swiss movements, but they are expensive new.

Sekonda used to sell pocket watches with decent Russian made mechanical movements - some with date windows. You could probably pick a nice one up from ebay for less than £20 in good working order, and then pay around £35 to get it serviced. Always check the size as some listed as pocket watches are actually pendant watches intended to be worn by a woman on a neck-chain. Good luck.


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## John MS (Mar 17, 2006)

ticktockuk said:


> I'm in the market for a new pocket watch - up to £100
> I'm looking for either a quartz with date feature or a mechanical one, both would be in silver. What I'm not sure of is what brands have a good reputation.
> I'm partiuclarly interested in:
> 
> ...


I have not heard of any of those companies, but many moderately priced brands including more recognized ones have their watches made by other companies like Orient. I see Seiko quartz pocketwatches at a couple of local dealers. Also, I've seen quartz pocketwatches for sale at Kohl's and Target department stores. Should not be difficult to find one.

If you like pocketwatches consider looking for a nice vintgage one.


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## Chascomm (Feb 13, 2006)

ticktockuk said:


> I'm in the market for a new pocket watch - up to £100
> I'm looking for either a quartz with date feature or a mechanical one, both would be in silver. What I'm not sure of is what brands have a good reputation.
> I'm partiuclarly interested in:
> 
> ...


100 quid will land you a late-model used-but-good Raketa (or Sekonda) on ebay plus the cost of a service by a local watchmaker. It's always a good idea to get a vintage watch serviced when you receive it just to be sure, and because you can get good quality vintage watches for such low prices on ebay, that actually is a more affordable route than going for something new.

Alternatively, if you prefer new, you could try one of the Chinese-sourced brands for mechanical watches. So long as you stick to those with genuine pocket-watch-sized movements (i.e. Unitas-clone) you should be fairly safe, and still have change for a service if needed a couple of years down the track.


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## lateasusual (Sep 29, 2010)

I've been searching for the last several months for a pocket watch. I have read lots of information to better inform myself on vintage and seen lots and lots of pictures of new pocket watches.

While waiting for the right vintage pocket watch to come along on eBay, I have satisfied my urge with some cheap Chinese mechanical and quartz pockets. Comparing photos from the American retail market to the Ebay stuff I saw virtually no difference in the look of the mechanical movements. The price markup on retail is tremendous and I didn't want to shell out good money for something that is just another Chinese import so I went directly to the source. The only difference is that a retail purchase will offer a warranty. I decided that I'd rather pay $10.00 than $100.00 to satisfy my curiosity.

The pocket watches only cost me pennies on Ebay and about 7-10 dollars each for shipping. AND, they're quite stylish for the price. Though I did have to wade through hundreds before I found something I liked.

Try a cheap pocket watch first to see if will even suit your style. I have read that advice more than a few times. When and if my pocket watches break then I might step up to something nicer.

Here's the mechanical.










And here's the quartz.










I had ordered another mechanical but was informed it was broken. Thankfully, the Ebay seller was honest about it and we cancelled the transaction easily. Below would have been the other mechanical. I really wanted that one the most.


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## lateasusual (Sep 29, 2010)

If you decide to go vintage this was a great resource for me.

Welcome to NAWCC


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## James Haury (Apr 10, 2008)

I think swiss army makes some pocket watches.They might be a good bet for quality.


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