Sundial watch
- Thread starter YooperBSN
- Start date
No idea. But that is one Awesome find....
YooperBSN
Senior Member
No idea. But that is one Awesome find....
In my short time doing this, I have never even heard of such an object. I tried to bend things back into place but this thing is TOUGH! Almost no weight to it though...I'm stumped as to what it could be made of.
Stainless Steel maybe?
YooperBSN
Senior Member
It could be, but it seems too light for that. It's about an inch in diameter, MAYBE 1/16th of an inch thick (prolly closer to 1/32nd) and only weighs 2 grams.
Probably hardened aluminum
waltr
Elite Member
Yes, 1/16" thick alum is hard to bend.
Aluminum would indicate 20th century.
Looks like it went on a strap. Also a Sun dial needs to be pointed North so a Compass is part of a portable sun dial. I don't see a provision for a compass.
Did a google search on "wrist strap sun dial" and found lots that are close in concept but not the one you found.
cellrdwellr
Elite Member
Looks like the "needle" goes side to side, and does not move clockwise/counterclockwise. That's a cool and mysterious relic, hope someone can ID it!
markinswpa
Forum Supporter
Huh?
Wow cool find. I hope somebody can shed some light on it. Funny thing I found one of those last year and close by was a part of a big fancy case. Not sure if it goes with the sun dial or not. Found at an 1840s home site. I believe it is aluminum as it will start to corrode if in the ground long enough. Aluminum was first on the scene in 1825 and used commercially by the 1880s. Good luck Mark
Wow cool find. I hope somebody can shed some light on it. Funny thing I found one of those last year and close by was a part of a big fancy case. Not sure if it goes with the sun dial or not. Found at an 1840s home site. I believe it is aluminum as it will start to corrode if in the ground long enough. Aluminum was first on the scene in 1825 and used commercially by the 1880s. Good luck Mark
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YooperBSN
Senior Member
that is, from what I can tell a dead ringer for mine. Any chance you still have those items handy and could post some clearer close-ups of both the watch and the case? I would say that the location where I found the sundial watch could be late 1800s to early 1900s as one item I found was a 1915 lucky penny from Detroit.
ToySoldier
Forum Supporter
Here you go. More photos in the link. Looks like 1930s-1950s style graphic design. There are some references online to Budan Plastic and Metal Products Co. being around in the 1940s.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Childs-Sundial-Watch/124050913204
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cellrdwellr
Elite Member
Great ID!
YooperBSN
Senior Member
That is really cool! Thanks! How did you end up finding it?
ToySoldier
Forum Supporter
Based on the size I figured it was a child's watch. So, I searched Ebay for "child sundial watch" Usually I turn on the "completed listings" option to get more results, but this one just so happened to have an active listing. It was the first result.
YooperBSN
Senior Member
Well, that's where I fell short then lol. I used just about every combination of "sundial", "watch", "vintage", etc but didnt include "child" or search ebay. Just used Google. Thanks TS!
ToySoldier
Forum Supporter
A "completed listings" search on Ebay is often pretty good at finding these kinds of things, and a google search usually won't pick up those listings/images. Not only that, Google and become worse and worse about getting results from things like hobby and collector websites. They're all about whose paying to be in the top level of search results.
markinswpa
Forum Supporter
Was sending pics. No need now. Glad TS Id it. I always wondered about it. Thanks TS. Mark
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markinswpa
Forum Supporter
Awesome job TS, thank you. Mark
