Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Richard Paige?
The Rpaige watch was conceived, designed and produced by Richard Paige. Richard is a 4th generation watchmaker, who founded several high profile watch stores in California. His signature store was Paris 1925, in San Francisco. Richard was the founder and owner of TimeZone.com, which is considered the worlds most popular website for watch enthusiasts. During his tenure at TimeZone.com, Richard launched an online watch repair school. Also, Richard conceived and produced 4 other limited edition watches, all sold out, and marketed exclusively on TimeZone.com. Richard has designed and produced furniture, jewelry, glassware, and art, all in the Art Deco theme and sold exclusively through retail stores.

How do I wind and set the watch?
Winding and setting the time:
Your watch must be wound each day for timekeeping, and don’t be shy about giving the watch a good wind.The normal position for the crown is the winding position. This position is the crown flush with the case. Wind the crown clockwise, you will hear a continuous clicking sound. Wind it until you feel enough resistance that makes the crown stop, usually between 35 to 50 winds. Once it reaches this resistance it is fully wound. Do not try and force it to wind further.To set the time, carefully pull out the crown until you are able to move the hands. Rotate the crown clockwise or counter-clockwise to adjust the time. Push the crown back to winding position when done.

How old are the movements?
Antique and Vintage movements. The limited edition Rpaige Wrocket watch uses a “12 size” (39.78mm) American pocket watch movement made by either Elgin of Illinois, or Waltham of Massachusetts. The Wrocket model comes from the joining of two technologies….the wristwatch and pocket watch…The wrist-pocket = the Wrocket watch.12 size pocket watch movements measures 39.78 mm, perfect size for a modern oversize wristwatch. The 12 size movements were produced mainly between 1897 and around 1929, after these dates, the wristwatch gained market acceptance and popularity, and the movements were then manufactured much smaller to fit into wristwatch cases.

Can I wear the watch everyday?
Although the movements in your limited edition watch were produced between 1899 and 1929, it does not mean that they have “old technology”. The basic design of the mechanical wristwatch has not changed since the late 1800’s. In fact, the materials and workmanship used on these movements is far superior than most modern brand name watches. The only major improvements in modern watch manufacturing were the “Incabloc shock protection system”, the “unbreakable mainspring” (using newer alloys), and anti-magnetism. Although the watch is not shock resistant, it is still very durable, and they are meant to be worn. The engineers and designers of these movements probably never realized how incredibly durable the product ended up being. And we believe that if the watch is serviced at regular intervals, that it will last another 100 years. However, the wearer should be aware that a drop, hard knock or impact may damage the watch. Also, powerful magnetic fields can affect the proper running of the watch.

What are the Jewels in a watch for?
There are basically 17 moving parts in a time only mechanical watch. A watch that is 15 jewels and higher is considered a fully jeweled watch, and will outlast a watch without jewels or a lesser amount. All movements used in the Rpaige watch are either 15 or 17 jewels. A jewel is usually made from synthetic corundum (sapphire, ruby). Jewels serve two purposes in a watch: reduced friction, which increases accuracy, and as bearing for the watch gear pivots, which increases the life span of the movement.

Is the watch Water Resistant?
Although the watch meets testing standards for water resistance to 10 meters, we don’t recommend submerging the watch in liquids of any kind. The stem-sleeve-crown designed on this watch uses the antique pocket watch engineering, and this was not designed for water resistance.

How accurate will the watch be?
Antique and vintage pocket watch movements are not accurate by today’s standards. Although these movements have been restored to their original specifications, that is, cleaned, restored and adjusted with care, they can never achieve the accuracy expected in today’s luxury high-grade watches. In the world of mechanics, anything assembled of small parts, which are capable of maintaining 99% accuracy, would be considered a top-tiered piece of machinery. To put things in perspective, a watch that is 99.9% accurate would be off by 1 minute and 27 seconds per day. Your watch should be within 1 to 2 minutes per day, and some of these movements may achieve accuracy of seconds per day.

What is the Warranty on the watch?
Your RPAIGE limited Edition “Wrocket” watch comes with a limited 1-year warranty from the date of purchase. This covers repairs due to any failure or breakdown of the movement and it’s components. It does not cover straps, scratches on the crystals, and cases that result from normal wear and tear. In case the watch cannot be repaired or restored due to market availability of key components, Rpaige reserves the right to exchange the movement or case for a replacement of the same or higher value.This Rpaige Limited Warranty does not cover defects resulting from accidents, mishandling or incorrect or abusive use (for example, knocks, dents, crushing, excessive temperatures, powerful magnetic fields), unauthorized alteration or repair or the consequences of normal wear and ageing of the watch, the strap or the glass, or the loss of water-resistance after one year from the date of purchase.

What is a Hunters Case Movement?
Most 12 size pocket watches were made “open Face”, meaning the winding stem was placed at the 12 o’clock. The hunter’s case movements were created for pocket watches that had a “cover”. These watches had the winding stem designed at 3 o’clock for easier reading sideways to the viewer. There has been no formal record of what percentage of the 12 size movements were hunters case movements, but we have found that about 3% of the production were these rare movements of the 12 size.

What are the enamel dials made from on the original dial Rpaige watches?
The dials were originally made of a plain circular plate of copper. Then covered with a paste of fine white enamel, carefully spread on with a knife to a thickness of 3/100 inches. It is then “fire enameled” in a furnace, for about 1 minute. After cooling it is ground smooth with a sandstone and emery, and then baked again. Now it is ready for the painters. The painter draws six lines across its surface with a lead pencil guided by a ruler, making each point for the hours. Another with a pencil of black enamel traces coarsely the numbers. A third finishes them at the ends to make them symmetrical. A fourth puts in the minute marks. Then the dial goes to an artist, who, holding it under a magnifier, paints the words “Elgin” or Waltham” ” in black enamel with a fine camel’s-hair brush, and then “fired” again. In later years, the numbers and markings were applied by using a stencil.

What is the history of the Elgin Movement?
Elgin: The Company was first incorporated in August 1864 as the National Watch Company, in Chicago Illinois. The company was re-organized in April 1865, and moved to a new factory in Elgin, Illinois in 1866. The first movement, delivered in 1867, was named the B.W. Raymond in honor of Benjamin W. Raymond, mayor of Chicago and partner in the company. In 1874, the company officially changed its name to the Elgin National Watch Company, as the Elgin name had come into common usage for their watches.During World War II, all civilian manufacturing was halted and the company moved into the defense industry, manufacturing military watches, chronometers, fuses for artillery shells, altimeters and other aircraft instruments and sapphire bearings used for aiming cannons. The original factory in Elgin closed in 1964, after having produced half of the total number of pocket watches manufactured in the United States. In 1968, all US manufacturing was discontinued and the rights to the name “Elgin” were sold and subsequently resold multiple times over the years.

What is the history of the Waltham movement?
The Waltham Watch Company, also known as the American Waltham Watch Co. and the American Watch Co., produced about 40 million high quality watches, clocks, speedometers, compasses, time fuses and other precision instruments between 1850 and 1957. The company moved into its new factory, in 1854, in Waltham, Massachusetts, on the banks of the Charles River, which grew over the years to its present size. These buildings still stand, and were added to the United States National Register of Historic Places in 1989. In 1860, as President Abraham Lincoln was elected and the country was embroiled in the Civil War, the company was forced to halt production. However, the company decided to downsize to the lowest possible level to keep the factory open. It worked: Upon his Gettysburg Address, President Lincoln became the proud owner of a Waltham watch. This watch is now in the collection of the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. The Waltham Watch Company went out of business in 1957. For an entertaining and informative video about the Waltham Watch Company, please see bottom of this page

How often should the watch be serviced?
Within reason, a mechanical watch can always be brought back into good time keeping, and a jeweled movement can last for generations. Even though these movements are all around 100 years old, they are still capable of running another 100 years and more. However, it is important to periodically service a watch to ensure that the components are well-lubricated, and that the mechanism is free from dust, dirt, and moisture. Any water that gets inside a mechanical watch will wreak havoc with the precision mechanism inside. A good rule of thumb is to have your watch serviced every 4 to 5 years, and sooner if it starts running erratic.

What’s the difference between mineral, acrylic and sapphire crystals?
The Rpaige watch uses a sapphire crystal for the front and a mineral crystal for the exhibition back. An acrylic watch crystal is a kind of plastic, which has the advantage of being resistant to shattering, but can be scratched easily. Mineral crystal is a kind of hardened glass, which is more scratch resistant than acrylic. Mineral crystals are also somewhat better at shatter resistance compared with sapphire A sapphire crystal is indeed made of synthetic sapphire, which is a transparent form of corundum. It is extremely hard (Moh’s scale 9), and will resist scratching by most substances short of diamonds. However, if struck sharply and from the correct direction, sapphire will shatter.

What do you mean by an “Art Deco” designed case?
The Art Deco period, beginning in the 1920’s, was a very stylized form of architecture and design which encompassed everything form buildings to teacups. Art Deco began in Paris as fashion and furniture, and was advanced and enhanced by industrial design and architecture in the USA. Richard Paige specialized in Art Deco designed furniture, art, jewelry and watches at his various retail stores in the San Francisco Bay area. The Rpaige Rocket Watch was inspired and designed in a classic art deco style reminiscent of New York architecture in the 1920’s and 1930’s. Even the hands are designed in the Art Deco style, inspired by a floor screen by Parisian Art Deco designer, Jean Dunnand.

Here’s a great video of the history of the Waltham Watch Company