Tissot Pocket Watch Anyone?

[catdaddy1111]

Hello,

I bought a vintage Tissot Pocket watch recently, at first the year escaped me and then I found a serial number reference guide located on this forum, 1918 is the year by the escapement serial number, the movement has all appropriate markings, 17jewel, 5 adjustments, Tissot, the case reads Warranted N.A.W. 20years which I take to mean gold plated or filled maybe 10kt or 14kt, the question I have is the dial appears to be railroad like markings, did Tissot make a railroad approved watch in 1918 or ever? I want the watch to be railroad approved, however, other than the traditional numerials, i.e., large black english style numbers, I have no other indication, I have researched and researched this watch and have never seen one close to it, can someone offer some advice? Thanks Clark

[Ray MacDonald]

Tissot would not have been railroad approved in the US at any time since it was not US made. It doesn't appear on the list for Canadian Pacific Railway watches either. Most RR watches by 1918 would have had more than 17 jewels, although 17 jewel watches seem to be still acceptable at that time.

[RON in PA]

Re: that style dial would never appear on an American RR watch and neither would those hands. Dials were all white with large Arabic numbers and each minute marked with a small tick and the five minute marks were larger.
Hands were very bold. The whole purpose was to make the watch readable, without error, in the dimly lit cabin of a steam engine.

Your Tissot appears to be a fashionable man's watch in a style common in the 1920s. It is also of very good quality as it has been adjusted to 5 positions. When it was new it probably kept time as well as or very close to RR watches, ie. 30 seconds a week.