Collector’s Set: The Antique Timepiece

The story of these watches starts with a mystery. It turns out that Abraham Lincoln owned two notable pocket watches. One - his ‘everyday carry’ - is currently sitting in the Smithsonian. The other? Ooo…the other one - a silver Waltham presented to him after the Gettysburg address - was stolen out of an LA bank vault in 1977 and has never been seen since. To this day, no one knows what has happened to his watch. It was this mystery of Lincoln’s missing watch that captured Gary Arnal’s interest.

Gary Arnal, a published member of the NAWCC, the author of a book on the American Watch Company's Broadway pocket watch and Jeni’s Dad (yay!) has spent decades looking for Lincoln’s missing watch. He collects old, antique pocket watches, and uses the serial number to fully research the history of each watch. Additionally, he lovingly (and painstakingly!!) restores each watch, bringing it back to perfect working order. He’s been doing this as long as Jeni can remember. And while he hasn’t found Lincoln’s pocket watch…yet…he did restore these three. 

Each watch in this collection is at least 100 years old, researched, repaired, and brought back to working order by Gary himself. Wind it once a day to keep the time accurate, and hold it to your ear - you’ll hear it tick (literally sounds like the ‘60 Minutes’ show, haha). 

Each watch comes in a collector’s kit that includes:

• The restored antique pocket watch in working order

• A leather case that slides onto a belt

• A glass dome display case

• A silver polishing cloth

Three watches are available. Details on each watch (including their history and character) are below.