Second Hand Watch Shop

10/08/2026

10/08/2026

Here’s another fun toy watch! My thanks to the owner–a generous client of mine. This time, we have a 1965 “James Bond 007 Spy Watch” from A.C. Gilbert Co.

On the right side of the front is the watch dial, which has a normal minute hand, but a direct-read hour window that rotates with the time. For the traveling spy, it also has a rotating bezel with world time zones.

On the left side is a hidden feature: a working scope that actually magnifies 3X. It slides out of the top and bottom of the watch, then the lenses fold up. How cool is that?

Same as the recent “GI Joe Combat Watch” post:

Powering this watch is a 1-jewel pin-pallet movement. It is a cal. BFG 866 from Swiss manufacturer Baumgartner. This is a real mechanical watch movement, and as you can imagine, it’s inexpensive but robust to be used in a kids toy watch.

Mysto Manufacturing was founded in Westville, Connecticut, USA, in 1909 by Alfred Carlton Gilbert. Initially they made magic supplies and illusion props for magicians. They launched the popular Erector Set in 1913. In 1916, they changed their name to the A.C. Gilbert Co. In 1946, they acquired the American Flyer model train line. In 1950, they produced the U-238 Atomic Energy Laboratory toy, which had actual low-level radioactive material in it. In 1961, Gilbert was sold to the Jack Wrather group, then later in 1967 they filed for bankruptcy. Gabriel Industries bought the Erector Set line, and Lionel bought the American Flyer line.

Baumgartner Frères SA (BFG) was founded in Grenchen, Switzerland in 1899. By the 1960s, the factory was manufacturing millions of pin-lever Roskopf movements annually. BFG specialized in simple, rugged, and low-cost mechanical movements often featuring just one jewel. As a result of dwindling demand, BFG ceased production in 1981 and was absorbed into the consolidation of the Swiss watch industry which eventually formed ASUAG/SMH, today known as the Swatch Group.

09/24/2026

I’ve mentioned before that I’m helping a client of mine go through his watches. Among other nice watches, he has several Gilbert toy watches. I’ll cover more of them in the future.

To start off though, here’s his “G.I. Joe Combat Watch” for kids. A.C. Gilbert Co. made it in 1965. On the right side of the face is the watch, which has a 12- and 24-hour dial. On the left side is a working miniature compass. When you flip open the compass, it creates a sight with crosshairs that you can aim. Too fun!

Powering this watch is a 1-jewel pin-pallet movement. It is a cal. BFG 866 from Swiss manufacturer Baumgartner. This is a real mechanical watch movement, and as you can imagine, it’s inexpensive but robust to be used in a kids toy watch.

Mysto Manufacturing was founded in Westville, Connecticut, USA, in 1909 by Alfred Carlton Gilbert. Initially they made magic supplies and illusion props for magicians. They launched the popular Erector Set in 1913. In 1916, they changed their name to the A.C. Gilbert Co. In 1946, they acquired the American Flyer model train line. In 1950, they produced the U-238 Atomic Energy Laboratory toy, which had actual low-level radioactive material in it. In 1961, Gilbert was sold to the Jack Wrather group, then later in 1967 they filed for bankruptcy. Gabriel Industries bought the Erector Set line, and Lionel bought the American Flyer line.

Baumgartner Frères SA (BFG) was founded in Grenchen, Switzerland in 1899. By the 1960s, the factory was manufacturing millions of pin-lever Roskopf movements annually. BFG specialized in simple, rugged, and low-cost mechanical movements often featuring just one jewel. As a result of dwindling demand, BFG ceased production in 1981 and was absorbed into the consolidation of the Swiss watch industry which eventually formed ASUAG/SMH, today known as the Swatch Group.

09/16/2026

Here’s a nice art deco watch with some great dial patina from its over 90-year-old life. I like this watch, but I traded it for another watch that I’ve been looking for quite a while. I’ll post about that in the near future.

This watch is an Omega “Filenios” brand watch. It belongs to a series of mythologically-themed models released by Omega in the 1930s. Other names in the series included Dedalos, Acribes, Firmus, and Euroos.

This watch has a cushion-shaped case about 31mm in width. That’s small for men’s watches today, but was standard size in the 1930s. Inside this watch is a 15-jewel Omega cal. 26.5 SOB movement, which was manufactured c. 1934-1935.

La Generale Watch Company was founded by Louis Brandt. In 1903, the success of their Omega brand led La Generale to spin off Omega into its own company. In 1925, economic difficulties due to WWI led to the union of Omega and Tissot. They then became part of SSIH in 1939. Omega was one of the "Dirty Dozen" watch manufacturers during WWII. As a result of the "quartz crisis," SSIH merged with ASUAG in 1983 to become ASUAG-SSIH. In 1985, they were acquired by private investors and renamed SMH. SMH was renamed to Swatch Group in 1998. Omega is still a subsidiary of Swatch Group, and is now based in Bienne, Switzerland.

09/03/2026

Recently, I’ve been working with a client who has many interesting pieces, and he has graciously given me permission to discuss them. The first of his watches we’re covering is a trench-style Ingersoll “Wrist” watch made in the U.S.A. in 1925.

This watch has a shrapnel guard made by Leonard. During World War I, soldiers in trenches frequently broke the glass crystals on their watches. This metal cage was designed to protect the glass from flying debris, rocks, and impact while still allowing the wearer to read the numbers beneath it.

In addition, this watch has a Komfit brand band made by Forstner. This stainless steel watch bracelet is known for its sliding, tool-free sizing and was used by NASA astronauts during the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo space missions. This band is not period correct for a trench watch, but it’s pretty cool anyway.

Ingersoll was founded by brothers Robert H. and Charles H. Ingersoll and initially sold items like rubber stamps. Ingersoll sold their first watches, made by Waterbury Clock Company, in 1892. Ingersoll sold the least expensive watch in the USA--the Yankee--in 1896 for just US$1. Ingersoll bought the Trenton Watch Company in 1908, and the bankrupt New England Watch Company in 1914. In 1919, Ingersoll invented the first glow-in-the-dark pocket watch called the Radiolite. Ingersoll went bankrupt in 1921 during the recession that followed World War I, and was purchased by Waterbury Clock Company in 1922. Waterbury Clock sold the London-based arm of the Ingersoll watch business in 1930. In 1933, Ingersoll-Waterbury obtained a license from Disney for a Mickey Mouse watch--the first character watch. The Ingersoll brand is currently owned by Zeon Watches, a British subsidiary of the Hong Kong company Herald Group.

08/05/2026

Back in March, my family took a trip to Vancouver, British Columbia. We had never been, so it was nice to explore this far-western Canadian city.

One of the neighborhoods we explored was Gastown–a revitalized, touristy area. I couldn’t resist checking out the Gastown Steam Clock–the world’s first modern steam-powered clock. It was designed and built by Raymond L. Saunders in 1977. It was fun to hear Westminster chimes through steam-powered whistles!

A nearby building known as “Le Magasin” houses the large World Time Globe, which was made by the same horologist–Ray Saunders–who made the Gastown Steam Clock. Easy to miss, but definitely worth checking out!

If the Gastown Steam Clock looks familiar, that might be due to it appearing on the cover of the Nickelback album “Here and Now.” Or you might remember it from a scene from the 1991 Chuck Norris action film “The Hitman.” Or you may have seen it in the 2019 mobile game “Mario Kart Tour” or the Nintendo Switch game “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.”

07/01/2026

Here’s a watch that has a unique look that only partly comes from the 1970s colorway. The dial of this watch tells the story of the dramatically changing watch industry. The rapid rise of inexpensive Japanese electronic digital watches left the Swiss watch industry scrambling to compete. One thing the Swiss did was to make their mechanical watches look “more digital.”

Except for this Endura watch’s second hand, time-keeping is done via windows for the minutes, the hour, and the date. Note this is a direct read watch, but not a jump hour, as the hour numbers rotate continuously and don’t snap (or jump) from one hour to another.

On the inside, this watch has an economical EB 8800 movement. Made in Switzerland by Ebauches Bettlach, this movement has KIF shock protection, a pin-lever escapement, and only one jewel.

The Endura Watch Company was founded in 1966 in Bienne, Switzerland, by the General Watch Company (GWC) to make watches under private label. Endura was part of the merger between ASUAG and SSIH into SMH, which is now the Swatch Group. Endura currently operates as the private label division of ETA SA Manufacture horlogere Suisse (Swatch Group).

05/20/2026

My wonderful wife told me to get myself a watch for my birthday (which was back in February), so off I went! After a bit of a search, I found a Lord Elgin dial with a Fisher Body carriage logo. My 1971 Cutlass Supreme’s body was made by Fisher, so I couldn’t resist! The dial came with a nice 17-jewel Elgin 872 movement, made c.1970 by the Swiss company Fabrique d'Horlogerie Fontainemelon (FHF).

To complete the watch, I needed to source some additional parts. The original case had likely been scrapped for gold value, which is a shame because it probably had a service award engraving on the caseback. So I found a vintage Elgin case that would fit the dial and movement, and put in a new crystal. Lastly, I selected a nice leather strap in dark green with white accent stitching.

Lord Elgin was marketed for men by Elgin National Watch Company, and Lady Elgin was for women. These two sub-brands were the highest grade watches that Elgin sold from 1937-1964. After 1964, historical information is less available.

Fisher Body Company began in Detroit, Michigan, USA, in 1908 as a coachbuilder. By 1916, they had grown into one of the world’s largest manufacturing firms, producing over 350,000 vehicles per year for nearly 20 automakers. In 1919, General Motors (GM) purchased a 60% stake in Fisher. In 1926, Fisher became GM’s coachbuilding division. Fisher Body Division was dissolved by GM in 1984, with various GM divisions absorbing their operations.