Which Balance Staff does my Waltham or Elgin Pocket Watch Need?

One of the most frequently asked questions we receive at Vintage Watch Parts is how to find out which particular balance staff a Waltham or Elgin pocket watch needs There are a huge number of different balance staffs available and a large quantity of different calibre Waltham & Elgin movements so which one to choose? The whole process can be quite overwhelming! We are going to find a balance staff for the above Waltham movement with serial number 21020865 When at the Pocket Watch Database - enter the serial number of your Waltham Pocket Watch movement into the serial number box, select Waltham from the drop down menu and hit search.

The page shows a number of balance staffs for Waltham pocket watches A quick look at this page shows that there are two possible staffs for the Waltham 1908 model - Waltham Staff No 4860 or 4861 The annoying thing is that Waltham used quite often, two different types of staff for each movement so it is important to get the right one!The above two look very different from one another and by removing the staff you should be able to ascertain which one you need. Source