- Waltham Pocket Watch Case Numbers
- Waltham Watches Serial Number List
- Waltham Serial Numbers Database
- American Waltham Watch Serial Number
| Industry | Horology |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1850 |
| Defunct | 1957 |
| Headquarters | |
| Products | Watches, clocks & aircraft clocks |
The Waltham Watch Company, also known as the American Waltham Watch Co. and the American Watch Co., produced about 40 million watches, clocks, speedometers, compasses, time fuses, and other precision instruments between 1850 and 1957. The company's historic 19th-century manufacturing facilities in Waltham, Massachusetts have been preserved as the American Waltham Watch Company Historic District.
History[edit]
1849 to 1853 Early history[edit]
The idea for the Waltham Watch Company came from watchmaker Aaron Lufkin Dennison. In 1833 he became a journeyman watchmaker with Currier & Trott in Boston, Massachusetts, leaving in 1839 to go into business for himself.[1] He also studied under Tubal Hone, considered the best watchmaker in America at the time. He also created the Dennison Gauge which became the 'US Standard' gauge used to accurately measure different parts of watches.[1] Dennison had the idea to make watches using machinery utilizing interchangeable parts. This was to reduce the expense of repairing watches.[2]
In 1849, Dennison was approached by Edward Howard, a clock and scale maker from Boston. Howard wanted Dennison to build locomotives but instead went into business with Dennison to make watches. Initial funding of $20,000 came from venture capitalist as well as T.P. Davis, a partner of Howard.[1] Dennison began to make watch parts for the company in its 'Howard & Davis' factory in 1849. A year later, the company moved to its own factory in Roxbury, Massachusetts, employing both Swiss and English watchmakers.[1] The first prototype watch was completed in 1850.[1]
In 1857 the company hit hard times again and was sold and renamed as the Appleton, Tracy & Co. A further 10,000 watch movements were produced by this company, serial numbers 4001 to 14,000. The final conversion to the American Watch Company came in 1859, when the Appleton, Tracy & Co joined forces with the Waltham Improvement Co and renamed. One of them is the one with just Waltham on the case with a serial and no other markings. It too has a Waltham movement, serial 3439715. Both movements are size 6. I have had two different jewlers look at the case and neither can determine exactly what it is made from without an acid test, which I will not let them do. Waltham Serial Ledgers designate this run as B. Gr” (B, William Ellery Grade) with “3 prs. Of jewels (13 Jewels). However, #3551224 has been verified as a Nickel, Model 1889 Movement Marked American Waltham Watch Co. The case is a Waltham case stated as “Coin” which seems to be coin silver. The serial number database features include the ability to find information and view the source pages for the information about Waltham watches and view observaton information provided by other collectors. The Find Serial tab requests a serial number and displays the detailed information about that number on the same page. The Waltham Watch Company was founded in 1850 by David Davis, Edward Howard, and Aaron Lufkin Dennison. Based in Waltham, Mass., the company produced nearly 40 million watches during the lifespan of the company, closing in 1957. The company established an expertise in machining quality high-precision parts that could be interchangeable in their watches.
The company was originally named the American Horological Company and was made up of Dennison, Howard, Davis, and Samuel Curtis. The company name was changed to Warren Manufacturing Company and released its first watch on the market in 1853.[1] The first 17 watches, which ran for 8 days, and were marked 'Howard, Davis & Dennison', were distributed among company officials. Number 1, given to Howard, is now at the Smithsonian Institution. Numbers 18 to 100 were named 'Warren, Boston' and the following 800 'Samuel Curtis', after the financial backer of the company. A few, marked 'Fellows & Schell', sold for $40. January 1853 saw the introduction of the 'P.S. Bartlett' watch, named for early employee Patten Sargent Bartlett.[citation needed] The company also became known as The Boston Watch Company starting in 1853.[3]
1854 to 1884; Bankruptcy and civil war[edit]
The company, known in 1854 as The Boston Watch Company, moved to Waltham, Massachusetts in 1854.[1] The investors in the company had formed The Waltham Improvement Company to purchase the land and buildings in Waltham to manufacture the watches.[3] In 1854 it produced five watches per day and employed 90 people, and was the first factory in the world to produce a pocket ready watch in the same factory.[1] Truecar jeep renegade review. Growth of the company prompted a significant expansion of these premises, whose surviving elements now date to the period 1879–1913. Now repurposed to residential and commercial use, the complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.[citation needed]
The company 'failed' in 1857[3] and upon bankruptcy, it was sold at auction to Royal E. Robbins, who reorganized it under the new name Appleton Tracy & Company (ATCo) with his brother, Henry Asher Robbins. The company was sold back to The Waltham Improvement Company under a new name of The American Watch Company.[3] The next movements produced, Serial numbers 5001 to 14,000, were used in the Waltham Model 1857 watch, the first pocket watch produced in America of standard parts. The 'C.T. Parker' was introduced as the 1857 model. 399 units were made. Howard left the company in 1858 to form E. Howard & Co.
In 1861, as the country entered the American Civil War, production stopped. The company decided to downsize to the lowest possible level to keep the factory open.[citation needed] It began producing a low cost watch called the William Ellery which was a 'fad' with Union soldiers. They sold for $13 and by the end of the Civil War represented 45 percent of Waltham's sales.[4] After the Civil War, the company became the main supplier of railroad chronometers to various railroads in North America and more than fifty other countries. In 1876, the company showed off the first automatic screw making machinery and obtained the first Gold Medal in a watch precision contest at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition.
1885 to 1957; Additional name changes and insolvency[edit]
In 1885 the company name changed to the American Waltham Watch Company (AWWCo).
In 1907 the company name changed to Waltham Watch Co. (WWCo), in 1923 briefly to the Waltham Watch and Clock Company and finally in 1925 to the Waltham Watch Company (WWC).[dubious]
The company closed its factory doors and declared bankruptcy in 1949, although the factory briefly reopened a few times, primarily to finish and case existing watch inventory for sale. Several different plans were presented to restart the business, but all failed for various reasons. In 1958, the company got out of the consumer watch business completely and reorganized into the Waltham Precision Instruments Company. All remaining watch inventory had been sold to the Hallmark Watch Company the previous year, and rights to the 'Waltham' trademark were sold to a new Waltham Watch Company incorporated in Delaware in exchange for stock.
Legacy[edit]
Before the Waltham Watch Company went out of business in 1957, it founded a subsidiary in Switzerland in 1954, Waltham International SA. Waltham International SA retains the right to the Waltham trade name outside of North America, and continues to produce mechanical wrist watches and mechanical pocket watches under the 'Waltham' brand.
During their restructuring efforts in the 1950s, Waltham opened an office in New York for the purposes of importing Swiss watch movements and cases. Due to restrictions placed on the company by its main creditor, the Restructuring Finance Corporation, they could not sell these watches directly, so they were sold through an independent company, the Hallmark Watch Company.
In 1959, the Waltham Watch Company merged with the Hallmark Watch Company, giving the new company access to replacement parts to service existing Waltham watch owners. The company came under much scrutiny by the Federal Trade Commission throughout the 1960s, and ultimately was forced to change its advertising and branding policies to clearly indicate that it was not directly related to the original Waltham company, and that its products were not made in America.[5]
Specialized clocks and chronographs for use in aircraft control panels continued to be made in the Waltham factory by the Waltham Precision Instruments Company. In February 1994, Prime Time Clocks purchased the last remaining product line, the mechanical aircraft clock.[citation needed] Waltham Precision Instruments was moved to Ozark, Alabama and changed its name to Waltham Aircraft Clock Corporation.[citation needed]
Products[edit]
Watches[edit]
Every watch movement that the company produced was engraved with an individual serial number. That number can be used to estimate the date of production. Volunteers have created a database of Waltham serial numbers,[6] models and grades,[7] and descriptions of observed watches.[8]
Two groups of high-quality watches were produced by the company for orders placed by the Canadian Pacific Railway. One large group has the shield and beaver emblem of the Railway engraved on the movements and is known as the 'CPR' type. The second group has 'Canadian Railway Time Service' engraved on the movements, and is known as the 'CRTS' type. They are both highly prized by collectors.
Upon giving the Gettysburg Address in 1863, Abraham Lincoln was presented with a William Ellery, key wind watch Waltham Model 1857, serial number 67613. This watch is now in the collection of the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC.[9]
Speedometers[edit]
The 1937 Ford sedans had Waltham speedometers, reputedly the only speedometer in a Ford to display the name of its manufacturers. A tester at the time was quoted as saying that accuracy had to be 'plus or minus 10 MPH'.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ abcdefgh'Yankee Hod-Carrier Revolutionized the Making of Watches'. The Independent-Record. 28 February 1895. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
- ^'Old Watches a Boston Fad'. The Inter Ocean. 26 March 1901. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
- ^ abcdBrearley, Harry Chase (1919). Time Telling Through the Ages. Doubleday, Page & Company. p. F241-F243. ISBN9780598742780.
In 1853 name was again changed to The Boston Watch Company, the principal stockholders of which organized The Waltham Improvement Company to buy land and buildings for The Boston Watch Company at Waltham, Massachusetts; moved into the new factory at Waltham in 1854, failed in 1857 and company's business was bought in by Royal E. Robbins, watch importer of New York City and Tracy Baker; in 1858 The Waltham Improvement Company increased its capital and purchased the business and property of The Boston Watch Company and re-incorporated under the nema of The American Watch Company; in 1855 the name was changed to The American Waltham Watch Company and in 1906 the name was again changed to The Waltham Watch Company, its present name; in 1913 the Company purchased the business of the Waltham Clock Company.
- ^Stephens, Carlene (29 August 2011). 'A Close Look at the Pocket Watch of a Civil War Surgeon'. The Atlantic. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
- ^'Waltham Precision Instruments vs Federal Trade Commission'. OpenJurist. Retrieved 2010-07-16.
- ^Waltham serial numbers
- ^Waltham models and grades
- ^Waltham descriptions of observed watches (via Wayback Machine)
- ^'Abraham Lincolns Waltham Pocket Watch'. Antique Time. Retrieved 2009-10-28.
Further reading[edit]
- Carosso, Vincent P., The Waltham Watch Company: A Case History, Bulletin of the Business Historical Society, Vol. 23, No. 4 (Dec., 1949), pp. 165–187, published by The President and Fellows of Harvard College
- Engle, Tom; Richard E. Gilbert; and Cooksey Shugart, Complete Guide to Watches, Twenty Seventh Edition, January 2007, ISBN1-57432-553-1
- Edward A. Marsh (1896), The evolution of automatic machinery as applied to the manufacture of watches at Waltham, Mass., by the American Waltham Watch Co., Chicago: G. K. Hazlitt & co., OL23704720M
- Sandburg, Carl, Lincoln Collector: The Story of Oliver R. Barrett's Great Private Collection, Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1949
- Shugart, Cooksey, The Complete Guide to American Pocket Watches, 1981, ISBN0-517-54378-8
External links[edit]
- Waltham Aircraft Clock Corporation.
- Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. MA-31, 'Waltham Watch Company, 221-257 Crescent Street, Waltham, Middlesex County, MA', 1 photo, 1 data page, 1 photo caption page
Including Waltham Watch Serial Numbers and Production Dates
Waltham, Massachusetts
1850 - 1957
Waltham Pocket Watch Case Numbers
The American Waltham watch factory on the banks of the Charles River
Single and satisfied tony evans. The American Waltham Watch Company had its beginnings in 1850 in Roxbury, Massachusetts. The company was founded by David Davis, Aaron Dennison, and Edward Howard. Their vision was to form a watch company that could produce high-quality watches at a lower cost using interchangeable parts. With financial backing from Samuel Curtis, of small-arms manufacturing fame, the watch production began in 1851, and the first small group of watches were finished in late 1852. The first watches produced went to officials of the company, and it was not until 1853 that the first watches were offered for sale to the public.
Problems were encountered with the new production methods. The company was exploring innovative new ideas in watch manufacturing, such as using jewels, making enamel dials, and producing plates with a high-level of finish which required extensive tooling and resulted in a great financial burden. They also found that even though they were using interchangeable parts, each watch was still unique and had its own set of errors to be corrected. It took months to adjust the watches to the point where they were any better than other widely available timepieces.
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In 1853, the factory building was completed and the company began doing business under the name 'American Horologe Company.' The name was changed to 'Boston Watch Company' in September 1853, and the factory in Waltham, Massachusetts was built in October 1854. The movements produced here (serial numbers 1001 - 5000) were signed 'Dennison, Howard,& Davis,' 'C. T. Parker,' and 'P. S. Bartlett.'
The company went through a series of financial reorganizations and renamings over the next decades. The Boston Watch Company failed in 1857 and was sold at auction to Royal E. Robbins. It was reorganized as 'Tracy, Baker & Co.' and later that same year the name was again changed to 'Appleton, Tracy & Co' and watches 5001 - 14,000 were produced. The first movements carried the Appleton, Tracy & Co. marking. The C. T. Parker movement was reintroduced as the model 1857 and sold for $12, no small amount in those days!
Waltham During the Civil War Years
In January, 1859 the Waltham Improvement Co. and the Appleton, Tracy & Co. merged to form the 'American Watch Company.'
The dial department of the Waltham Watch factory.
In 1860, as Abraham Lincoln was elected President and the country found itself in the throes of the Civil War, the American Watch Company was faced with serious financial problems. By 1861, business had come to a standstill and bankruptcy seemed inevitable. The factory was kept in operation through these years by cutting expenses to the lowest possible level.. a strategy that proved successful.
According to the biography by Carl Sandburg, Abraham Lincoln owned and carried a Waltham 'Wm. Ellery' watch. The watch was an 11-jewel, 18 size, key-wind in a silver hunter case, and was produced in January of 1863.
In 1885, the company became the 'American Waltham Watch Company'. In 1865 prices for movements only (no case) were: William Ellery $13, P. S. Bartlett $16, Bartlett-Ladies $30, Appleton Tracy $38, A. T. & Co Ladies $40, and American Watch Grade $175!
In 1906 the company was renamed the 'Waltham Watch Company'. In 1923, they became the 'Waltham Watch and Clock Company' reflecting the new importance of clock manufacturing, but then in 1925 the name was changed back to 'Waltham Watch Company'.
American Horology owes much to the brilliant visionaries of the Waltham Watch Company. Bacon, Church, Dennison, Fogg, Howard, Marsh, Webster, and Woerd all contributed greatly to American watchmaking.
Waltham continued to manufacture watches (and clocks) until 1957, when they ceased production and became the Waltham Precision Instrument Company. The rights to the name 'Waltham Watch Company' were sold to the Hallmark Watch Company of Chicago, Illinois who continued to sell imported watches using the Waltham name. Several of the original Waltham factory buildings are still standing, and were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.
Waltham Named Grades
Waltham Watches Serial Number List
In addition to using grade numbers, Waltham also used many grade names on their watches, often choosing the names of Board members, company investors, or other prominent individuals. The grade name basically designates the model and/or level of finish of the watch. Some of the more popular Waltham named grades were:
P. S. Bartlett, Appleton Tracy & Co., William Ellery, Crescent Street, Colonial, Riverside, Central Park, Broadway, Royal E. Robbins, Vanguard, Bond Street, Sterling, Premier, Royal, and Maximus.
Modern Waltham Watches
It is still possible to purchase modern quartz watches that bear the Waltham name, but these watches are unrelated to the 'genuine' American Waltham Watch Company. In fact, a 1961 ruling by the Federal Trade Commission prohibited any inference that a relationship to the original Waltham Watch Company exists.
The bustling traffic outside the Waltham Watch factory at noon
Waltham Serial Numbers Database
American Waltham Watch Company
Total Production: Approx. 35 Million Watches
| Year | S/N |
|---|---|
| 1852 | 50 |
| 1853 | 400 |
| 1854 | 1000 |
| 1855 | 2500 |
| 1856 | 4000 |
| 1857 | 6000 |
| 1858 | 10,000 |
| 1859 | 15,000 |
| 1860 | 20,000 |
| 1861 | 30,000 |
| 1862 | 45,000 |
| 1863 | 65,000 |
| 1864 | 110,000 |
| 1865 | 180,000 |
| 1866 | 260,000 |
| 1867 | 330,000 |
| 1868 | 410,000 |
| 1869 | 460,000 |
| 1870 | 500,000 |
| 1871 | 540,000 |
| 1872 | 590,000 |
| 1873 | 680,000 |
| 1874 | 730,000 |
| 1875 | 810,000 |
| 1876 | 910,000 |
| 1877 | 1,000,000 |
| 1878 | 1,150,000 |
| 1879 | 1,350,000 |
| 1880 | 1,500,000 |
| 1881 | 1,670,000 |
| 1882 | 1,835,000 |
| 1883 | 2,000,000 |
| 1884 | 2,350,000 |
| 1885 | 2,650,000 |
| 1886 | 3,000,000 |
| 1887 | 3,400,000 |
| Year | S/N |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 3,800,000 |
| 1889 | 4,200,000 |
| 1890 | 4,700,000 |
| 1891 | 5,200,000 |
| 1892 | 5,800,000 |
| 1893 | 6,300,000 |
| 1894 | 6,700,000 |
| 1895 | 7,100,000 |
| 1896 | 7,450,000 |
| 1897 | 8,100,000 |
| 1898 | 8,400,000 |
| 1899 | 9,000,000 |
| 1900 | 9,500,000 |
| 1901 | 10,200,000 |
| 1902 | 11,100,000 |
| 1903 | 12,100,000 |
| 1904 | 13,500,000 |
| 1905 | 14,300,000 |
| 1906 | 14,700,000 |
| 1907 | 15,500,000 |
| 1908 | 16,400,000 |
| 1909 | 17,600,000 |
| 1910 | 17,900,000 |
| 1911 | 18,100,000 |
| 1912 | 18,200,000 |
| 1913 | 18,900,000 |
| 1914 | 19,500,000 |
| 1915 | 20,000,000 |
| 1916 | 20,500,000 |
| 1917 | 20,900,000 |
| 1918 | 21,800,000 |
| 1919 | 22,500,000 |
| 1920 | 23,400,000 |
| 1921 | 23,900,000 |
| 1922 | 24,100,000 |
| 1923 | 24,300,000 |
| Year | S/N |
|---|---|
| 1924 | 24,550,000 |
| 1925 | 24,800,000 |
| 1926 | 25,200,000 |
| 1927 | 26,100,000 |
| 1928 | 26,400,000 |
| 1929 | 26,900,000 |
| 1930 | 27,100,000 |
| 1931 | 27,300,000 |
| 1932 | 27,550,000 |
| 1933 | 27,750,000 |
| 1934 | 28,100,000 |
| 1935 | 28,600,000 |
| 1936 | 29,100,000 |
| 1937 | 29,400,000 |
| 1938 | 29,750,000 |
| 1939 | 30,050,000 |
| 1940 | 30,250,000 |
| 1941 | 30,750,000 |
| 1942 | 31,050,000 |
| 1943 | 31,400,000 |
| 1944 | 31,700,000 |
| 1945 | 32,100,000 |
| 1946 | 32,350,000 |
| 1947 | 32,750,000 |
| 1948 | 33,100,000 |
| 1949 | 33,500,000 |
| 1950 | 33,560,000 |
| 1951 | 33,600,000 |
| 1952 | 33,700,000 |
| 1953 | 33,800,000 |
| 1954 | 34,100,000 |
| 1955 | 34,450,000 |
| 1956 | 34,700,000 |
| 1957 | 35,000,000 |
| - | - |
| - | - |
Be sure to use the serial number on the movement (the works) of the watch. Do not use the serial number from the watch case.
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American Waltham Watch Serial Number
At Renaissance Watch Repair, we are experts in the repair and restoration of antique watches made by the American Waltham Watch Company. Please contact us if you have any questions about the repair of your vintage Waltham watch.