Smaller mail-order retailers would case the watches, typically in a 20-year gold filled case and offer it only that way, with the buyer not having a choice of cases. Eaton (in Canada), would offer the movements in a variety of cases of different design and quality in their catalogs.
Large outfits such as Sears, Roebuck & Co., Montgomery Ward, or T. The jeweler would then fit the movement to the case in a matter of moments.
The practice at that time was to go to a jeweler, select the quality of the movement and then pick out the desired style and quality of case. The case companies made cases in those same sizes. Most watch companies just made movements (the "works") in industry standard sizes. Only a small percentage of American watches (or Swiss watches for the North American market) were cased at the factories prior to the mid-1920's (even then, uncased movements were furnished to the trade at least until the 1960's). I think that the 1917 Oskamp-Nolting catalog has your watch movement on page W5. Please let us know when you've looked this information over and have more questions. To view, go to the Elgin Watch Collectors Site Home Page at, then copy and paste the address in your browser's address bar and click on 'Go'. Should the date not be listed in the search of the NAWCC Information Storage - Waltham Serial Number Data Base, this Waltham Production Date chart is a means for determining the approximate production date.Ĭatalog Information for some Waltham watches can be seen online in scans from the:ġ887 (Updated to 1889) S.F. "Comment 42 " is on page 42 of “ Serial Numbers With Description of Waltham Watch Movements, ” Waltham Watch Co., Waltham, MA, 1954, (commonly referred to as " The Gray Book "). Note: When a number appears by itself in the Comment Column, it is the page in the factory serial list where the entry appeared. There is also a Glossary of the terms provided by the serial number lookup. You can find out some basic facts about your Waltham watch by entering the serial number on the movement (the "works") in the field on the NAWCC Information Storage - Waltham Serial Number Data Base (don't use any commas). is available on Greg Frauenhoff's website. An 1884 article on the American Watch Co. Commonly referred to as "Waltham," the company made a full line of watches ranging from modest, affordable watches to some of the finest watches made in this country. Over the next hundred years or so of its existence, its output of jeweled watches (over 34 million) was only exceeded by one other company, the National Watch Co. It was the first successful company in America to manufacture watches in mass production using machinery to make identical (or at least, near identical) parts.
(Waltham, MA) had its origins in the 1850's. Welcome to the NAWCC Pocket Watch Message Board!
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