Restoration and repair of Antique & Vintage American Pocket Watch Cases is another service that I provide. There are a number of things that can  be wrong with a pocket watch case. There are the obvious, external parts such as the bow, crown and the case itself. The bow could be missing. The crown could be a replacement and not be period or style correct. You could have a dent in the case which detracts from its beauty. Hunter cases present an even more unique problem. They have a lift spring and a latch spring and either of these could be worn or broken, requiring special tools and replacement parts to repair.

Then there are the internal parts that you can't see such as the stem and sleeve that control the winding and setting. Maybe you feel a "slipping" when you wind the watch or maybe you can't pull the crown out to set the watch.

Some of these defects will prevent a watch from functioning properly. Some may even prevent your pocket watch from running at all. Others may take away from its aesthetic beauty. For all these instances and more, I maintain an extensive inventory of bows, crowns, stems and sleeves to provide prompt restoration and repairs services.

Additionally, it is desirable to match the bows and crowns to the pocket watch case style and color. If you have a need for a fancier bow or crown than my inventory, I have a network of new old stock suppliers to rely upon for these types of needs.  

More information on pocket watch cases...

From the early days of American pocket watch production(1850's) through the early 1900's the manufacturer for the pocket watch movement was separate from the manufacturer for the pocket watch case. During this time, the watch movement manufacturer did not put the watch in a case and for the most part didn't even make the case. Instead, pocket watch manufacturers shipped completed movements to jewelers and pocket watch case manufacturers shipped the cases to the jeweler. The jeweler would in turn select a movement and case to the customer's liking and the jeweler would then case the watch for the customer. The one exception to this is what is referred to as the "dollar watch" which was produced by the millions around the turn of the 20th century with the movement and case being  assembled at the factory

The upshot of all this is that for many, many years standard sizes were produced for both pocket watch movements and pocket watch cases such that even today one can generally locate a case for an orphan movement or vice versa.