When one side of my family came to the United States in the 19th century, many of them established themselves in this country in the tough business of working on the railroads in Chicago, Illinois. It was hard and dangerous work, with notoriously bad safety conditions, and many railroad workers were maimed or even killed doing their work. In but one tragic example, my grandmother lost an uncle to a train yard accident when he was only 20 years old, after he was crushed between two trains. When I was about that same age, my grandfather passed down an heirloom pocket watch to me, that had been passed down to him. The watch appears to have been made by the Illinois Watch Company, around 1916 in Springfield, Illinois. (The movement, despite bearing the name Washington Watch Co., was almost certainly made by Illinois.) It is a grade 605--not railroad grade. The most obvious reason is that the time is adjustable via the crown without needing to first remove the crystal. But the style (and accuracy) are consistent with what was used for railroad timekeeping. As the images below show, the face is yellowed and the second hand is missing--but it still runs. It runs more accurately than any of my automatic wrist watches, in fact. I keep it on my desk on a cushioned movement holder, and the audible ticking at 14,400 bph is a comfortable and familiar sound that fills the silence. As far as the world of watches goes, pocket watches of this era are worth shockingly little money on the resale market, but of course the value in this watch to me lies in the family history behind it, and selling it would be out of the question.

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My brethren from the Watch Community. I just received a promotion at work and I do not own an elegant leather strap watch. I have 12 watched and all have metal bracelets. I would like to purchase something different that won't break the bank ($750 to $1,000). I am looking for some recommendations to start narrowing my options (too many when I started looking on Jomashop). Please provide some recommendations based on watched you own or have experienced. Thank you!

Introduce yourself and level-up, it's that simple! You'll get at least 5 likes (oftentimes more!) which will move you to level 2 and on your way to level 3 (these levels give you access to prizes!). What to say in your intro? Share where you're from, your reason for joining, your profession, perhaps your favorite watch or a picture of your entire collection! Whether you're a seasoned watch collector or just starting, have fun engaging with the group.