My great-grandpa's 1930s pocket watch sat silent for decades until I found a guy in St. Louis

Last month, I was going through an old box from my mom's attic and found the watch he carried during his time as a railroad conductor. It was completely frozen, and I figured it was just a display piece now. I took it to a specialist in St. Louis named Mr. Jacobs, and for about $200, he cleaned and repaired the mainspring. Hearing it tick again for the first time in probably 50 years was incredible. Has anyone else had luck getting a really old timepiece working again?

3 comments

3 Comments

rileygonzalez3mo ago

That sound when it started up must have been something else.

ivan_schmidt3mo ago

Oh man, I saw a video about this. Some guy fixed up a watch from like the 1800s, and the sound when it started up was just amazing. That's so cool you got your great-grandpa's working again.

ryan_kim631mo agoMost Upvoted

Watching a dead mechanical thing come back to life is a whole different kind of satisfying, isn't it? My dad had an old clock that sat silent for thirty years. A little oil and a gentle nudge later, it was ticking away like it never missed a beat. That first tick just hits different. Makes you feel like you cheated time itself somehow.