Columbus 18S 16J lever set (LS) adj. 5p Railway King pocket watch #364834, impressive 2-tone full plate nickel movement with screw-down gold jewel settings (GJS) and a fancy concentric circle damascene pattern that has gold-flashed rings to create a target design, double sunk (DS) porcelain enamel dial with Roman numerals, red 5 minute markers and a black-marked subsidiary seconds register is marked "Columbus Railway King" on the upper half, dial does have some faint hairlines, blue steel spade style hands, re-cased into a heavy smooth polish Sterling silver (marked) screw back & bezel (SB&B) #4 weight case with a fancy blank monogram shield surrounded by floral engraving, a large heavy bow and an extra thick glass crystal, case is showing normal even wear but does have notable smoothing to the engraving and a small patch of damaged silver revealing the brass frame at 6:30, additionally the crystal does have a few small flakes at the edge and we can replace the crystal with a new plastic one at no charge
on request, measures approx. 57mm in diameter x 83mm in length x 21mm thick (crystal included). A very heavy, high grade Columbus from the early 1900s that was considered to be railroad grade at the time of production in excellent overall condition!
- Year Made: 1900-1901
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Company:
Columbus
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Movement Size:
0318S
- Jewels: 1216J
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Setting/Movement Type:
lever set
- Adjustments: 5 positions
- Model/Grade: Railway King
- Serial #: 364834
- Movement Finish: 2-tone
- Movement Details: gold jewel settings (GJS), screw-down jewel settings
- Dial Material: porcelain enamel
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Dial Details:
marked "Railway King"
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Hand Style:
spade
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Case Style:
SB&B
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Case Material:
Silver - Sterling/Solid
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Case Details:
re-cased, extra-thick glass crystal
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Case Width/Diameter:
57mm (2.24 inches)
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Case Length, bow included:
83mm (3.27 inches)
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Case Thickness:
21mm (0.83 inches)
- Crystal Material: glass
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Condition:
Excellent
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Gender:
Gentlemen's
The Columbus Watch Company, out of Columbus, Ohio, was in business from 1874 until 1902. Columbus produced a wide range of watch grades with a large number of high grade watches for railroad service. One of the original founders of the company, Dietrich Gruen, was a leading innovator during the early years of the company, patenting many new and updated modifications to the movements that eventually allowed for smaller, and thinner, watches across the industry.
The company manufactured almost 400,000 watches before it was sold and renamed the
South Bend Watch Company. Additionally, in 1894, Gruen founded a new company, the
Gruen Watch Company which went on to make some of the earliest "thin-model" pocket watches and helped to usher in the age of the wrist watch.
As an additional resource, we've posted a
Serial Number Production List which includes information for Columbus serial numbers and dates of manufacture.
The NAWCC also has a
comprehensive article about the company.
This watch is in good running condition, unless otherwise noted in the description. This means that on receipt, pending any item-specific running conditions noted in the description, you can expect the watch to be winding and setting properly and to run smoothly while keeping reasonable time. We consider "reasonable time" to meet these basic guidelines:
- Railroad Grade Watches will be keeping +/- 5 minutes per day
- Pocket and Wrist Watches with 15 or more jewels will be keeping +/- 10 minutes per day
- All key wind watches and watches with 14 or fewer jewels will be keeping +/- 15 minutes per day
The above guideline is the lowest standard in which we would ship out a watch, however in most cases, you will see much better timekeeping. Most of our watches have been in storage for many years, so if you plan on carrying/wearing them everyday, you should consider having them cleaned and oiled soon, and then once a year thereafter to keep them in top running condition. If the watches will be for occasional use or display, they should be cleaned and serviced every 3 to 5 years depending on use.
As of October 8th, 2025, we are not offering a cleaning and service option through PM Time Service. While we do hope to offer this again in the future, we are unfortunately unable to meet customer requests for watch servicing at this time. Please note that, unless otherwise mentioned within the "Full Description" tab, this watch is being sold in good running condition and is ready to wear or carry on arrival.
This watch comes complete with an appropriate, intact glass crystal; however, on request PM Time Service can replace the current crystal on this pocket watch for you. We offer a number of new and vintage crystal choices for pocket watches; you can select your desired choice from the dropdown menu below.
Please note that the average turnaround time for all pocket watch crystal replacements will be two days from the placement of the order.
Contact us with any further questions or for an estimate on any shipping delays.
Please note: if you add this watch with a crystal and/or band exchange option to your
shopping cart but later change your mind on the crystal and/or band selection type, you'll need to remove the watch from the cart in order to make a new selection. Once that is done, you can return to this page and add that new crystal and/or band combination to the cart. We apologize for the limitations to our system that prevent you from making that change within the shopping cart.
Unlike modern quartz watches, most vintage watches need daily winding in order to keep the watch functioning for timekeeping. Additionally, there are a number of different ways to set the time other than simply pulling the crown away from the watch body. We are happy to provide an overview of each of the different setting types on our
"How To Use" page, where we also provide information on proper winding techniques for each style and some suggestions for the proper long term care and storage of your watch.
For your gift giving convenience, please find a consolidated overview of the information on this item, with no reference to the price, on this
printer-optimized page.
