how many parts are there in an old-fashioned fully mechanical (no
batteries, in other words) pocket watch?

illenot-ga:

That's an interesting question!

According to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH:

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"the traditional mechanical watch is made up of about 130 parts
assembled in the three main parts which are the source of energy, the
regulating parts and the display. The number of component parts is
much higher in so-called complicated watches (date, phases of moon,
fly-back hand, etc.). The "ébauche" (about 60 parts) fitted with the
regulating and certain other parts, forms the movement, in other words
the internal mechanism of the watch, which makes it possible to
maintain a constant tension in the spring once it has been wound
manually or automatically (by movements of the wrist) and to regulate
the display by means of the hands (hours, minutes, seconds). A watch
is said to be finished when the movement has been fitted with a dial,
hands, and case."

http://www.fhs.ch/english/ecomment.php

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As a side note, mechanical watches typically use jewels as the
bearings for the moving parts. According to WatchSales.com:

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"Quartz watches with only a few rotating mechanical parts have maybe 5
jewels, mechanical watches have about 17-50 depending on the
complication. The number of jewels doesn't say anything about the
quality of a movement."

http://www.watchessales.com/basic_knowledge_1.htm

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So, the Answer is that, the typical mechanical watch contains around
130 parts; the more complicated the watch (ie. the more features it
has), the more parts are needed.

Hope this helps!

aht-ga
Google Answers Researcher

it rearly don't make any differants on how many parts are in a watch
the more money you pay the better quality it is. if you buy a quartz
pocket watch your loose your money, if you want to invest in a watch
ask jon at www.antiquewatchcouk.com if you just want an pocket watch
to tell the time and look cheap its a quartz pocketwatch.