#Waltham pocket watch models serial numbers

They became the timepieces for prominent figures as well as average folks, and their popularity today is a testament to their timeless characteristics. Throughout their long history, Waltham watches were renowned for their sophisticated design and precise time telling. They continued to design and produce watches until the late 1940s, when the company went bankrupt. It was in 1907 that the Waltham Watch Company officially emerged, picking its name in part due to the location of the watch company in Waltham Massachusetts. Over the next 50 years the company experienced several rounds of reorganization and retitling. They made their first watch in 1852, stamping it simply with their three last names, “Howard, Davis & Dennison.' Organized by three associates in the mid-19th century, the Waltham Watch Company experienced a cloaked early history, as its founders did not want their design innovations to leak to the public. The Waltham pocket watch is equally celebrated and is part of the company’s history from its very beginning. The gold stars are not perforated but they are finished in high relief.Producing millions of timepieces over their 107-year history, Waltham Watch Company is a landmark in American timekeeping. Some steel stars are also gilded or damasceened. PWfanatik - yes, some of the star regulators were polished steel, and these are often seen on the lower grade models, but also (with a little more finishing detail) on the American Watch Co. The switch to Ohlson's 1908 regulator may be a closer indication, but it is not used on all 1908 models and I seem to recall some other discrepancies in its use.

#Waltham pocket watch models serial numbers

Many 1899 models have serial numbers above the first 1908 models. The only reliable visual clue that I know of to distinguish the models without some disassembly is by looking up the serial number. It is perhaps just coincidental that the new recoiling click was introduced around the same time as the 1908 model (actually perhaps as early as 1907). The later click, patented in 1909, is a recoiling click but was actually introduced ahead of its patent. The 'clicker' is called a click in the material catalog and, as others have observed, it not a defining characteristic for the 1908 model. in 19, but Waltham never made this model under their own name. Undoubtedly the absolute best 17-jewel 1899 model was one that Waltham finished for the E. At that point, the Royal was the best remaining 17j model. Within a couple of years the Riverside added a jeweled mainwheel, for a total of 19 jewels, and was adjusted to five positions. It was initially adjusted to temperature and three positions. The best regular production 17j model in 1903 would have been the Riverside, which had a double-roller escapement, steel escape wheel and raised gold settings. However, the gilt finish to the screws and regulator suggests it may have been a special order movement. The comtemporary catalog claims only adjustment to temperature. However, it still has the lower-grade plate pattern, flush-set train jewels (other than the center wheel) and brass escape wheel of the Royal at this date. The better grade movement you show is listed as a Royal grade movement, although it shows some finish details I associate with the Riverside grade (damaskeen pattern on plates and winding wheels). According to the contemporary catalogs it was an unadjusted movement, not even claiming temperature adjustment. As you note, the grade 625 was their cheapest 17j model. There was, indeed, a range of quality in Waltham's 17j 1899 model.