Here are a few tips to find information about your pocket watch: Always input the serial number from the pocket watch movement (the 'mechanism' of the watch). Never use the serial number from the case or any other part. Always select the correct manufacturer, which is usually stamped on the watch. One example of outright fraud appeared on a 1907 Jos. Brown & Co., Chicago, IL catalog page (reproduced on page 39 of Foreign & American Pocket Watch Identification and Price Guide - Book 3, Roy Ehrhardt, Heart of America Press, Kansas City, MO, 1976) which offered complete watches housed in '10-Year Cases Stamped 20 Years.' These abuses were. Apr 12, 2017 Search for an inscription on the inside of the back cover and the inside of the cuvette. This is where many manufacturers noted what type of metal the case was made of, typically either nickel, silver, gold filled or solid gold. A serial number might also be inscribed here, but that is the serial number of the case, not the watch itself. Sep 01, 2020 Key wind pocket watch 1 1858 9 996 darlor vine american pocket watches pany boston pocket watch 17 jewel antique howard pocket watch repairHoward Pocket Watch Serial NumberE Howard Watch Clock Co Pocket Serial Number Lookup IdentifyE Howard Watch Clock Co Pocket Serial Number Lookup IdentifyHoward Pocket Watch Serial NumbersAntique Howard Pocket Watch Repair. The Pocket Watch Database has compiled data covering the major American pocket watch manufacturers and created an easy way to find information using the serial number on the watch movement. Here are a few tips to find information about your pocket watch: Always input the serial number from the pocket watch movement (the 'mechanism' of the watch).
Question
QUESTION: Hi there. I saw a posting by another watch-inheritor and wondered if you could give me an approximate date for a watch my parents have. The other poster's watch was a C.W.C. Co watch with a serial number of 180825 which you said was probably produced around 1887-1888. I don't have quite as much detail about this watch, but inside one cover are the letters C.W.C. Co and the number 581555. Over near the side is scratched the number 19244 or 19744 in TINY hand-scratch. The outside case is smooth gold with just some design along the very edge of the case covers. In addition to dating the watch, I'm wondering if you can tell me where it might have been sold. For instance, were these only sold from the Boston area, or distributed to other cities, etc.?My parents were having a hard time remembering who the watch originally belonged to.Thanks so much for your anticipated response,Thais Gloor, Burlington, MA
ANSWER: Thais,
C.W.C. Co is Crescent Watch Case Company.They did not make the watch, only the case.
the hand etched numbers are from former watchmakers. When one of them workedon a watch, they would put down the shorthand in case they worked on that samewatch again.There was no standard shorthand. Every watchmaker had his own symbols and codes.
Cwc Co Pocket Watch Case Serial Number Lookup Phone
If you can tell me what is written on the movement itself, I can probably tell youmore about the watch.
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Hello again Melvin. I have more information about this (and two other watches), if you don't mind.
Watch #1: American Waltham Watch Co. SAFETY BARREL 6175569, case is CWC Co # 581555
Watch #2: American Waltham Watch Co. SAFETY BARREL 6518390, case is Philiadelphia Watch Case Co. VICTORY WARRANTED TEN YEARS 4056437 (This one has a more elaborate case with floral design on both sides)
Watch #3: Tobias Et Co LIVERPOOL, No 40788, DETACHED LEVER, 13 JEWELS, case has the numbers 11455 and 40788 on it. Face has roman numerals, very delicate hands and looks like silver with gold floral accents
Thanks for all your help with further information on the origin/age of these!
Answer
Watch #1: 1892 Crescent Watch Case Co.
Watch #2: 1893 Warranted then years means that it is gold filled.
The American Waltham Watch Company had its beginnings in 1850 in Roxbury, Massachusetts. The company was founded by David Davis, Aaron Dennison, and Mr. 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, the first watches were made in 1850, but problems were encountered. They were exploring new ideas in watch manufacturing, such as using jewels, making dials, and producing plates with a high-level of finish which required extensive tooling and resulted in great financial burden on the company. 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.
Customer Department at the Waltham Watch CompanyIn 1851, the factory building was completed and the company began doing business under the name 'American Horology Company.' 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. 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 Boston Watch Company failed in 1857 and was sold at auction to Royal E. Robbins. It was reorganized as '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! 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, keywind in a silver hunting case, and was produced in January of 1863.
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!
Case Skid Steer Serial Number Lookup
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 until 1957. It is still possible to purchase modern quartz watches that bear the Waltham name, but these watches are not related in any way to the 'genuine' American Waltham Watch Company.
Watch #3: That one I don't have know about because it is an English watch.
Including Howard Watch Serial Numbers and Production Dates
Roxbury (Boston), Massachusetts
December 11, 1858 - 1903
Edward Howard, without doubt one of the most respected names in the history of American horology, started the Howard Watch Company after the failure of the Boston Watch Company (1853-1857). His goal was to produce watches of the highest quality using interchangeable machine-made parts. With his financial partner, Charles Rice, Howard moved the tools, machinery and watches 'in progress' from the defunct Boston Watch Company to their Roxbury factory in late 1857. During their first year of operation, the machinery was retooled for the production of a new watch of Howard's design, and the remaining Boston Watch Company movements were completed. These movements were signed 'E. Howard & Co.' on the dials and 'Howard & Rice' on the movements.
By the summer of 1858, Edward Howard produced the first watch of his own design, a watch that was entirely different from previous watches. The top plate was made in two sections (split plate) and had six pillars instead of the usual four found in a full-plate watch. This watch also introduced the more accurate quick-train to the American market. Balances were gold or steel at first, and later bi-metallic compensating balances with gold screws were used. Reed's patented barrel was used on early watches, but by 1868, Howard patented a new steel motor barrel which replaced the Reed's barrels in Howard watches. Howard also introduced the first stem-winding watch in 1868, and was probably the first to market such a watch in the USA. The manufacture of key-wind movements was discontinued altogether by 1878. Howard was first to use the Reed patented micrometer regulator, and was the first to offer watches adjusted to six positions.
Howard dials were always made of hard enamel, and bore the name ' E. Howard & Co., Boston.'
Edward Howard retired in 1882, but his company continued to sell watch movements in grades and styles established by Howard until 1903.
E. Howard is NOT the same as Keystone-Howard
In 1902, the Keystone Watch Case Company purchased the rights to the Howard brand-name, and subsequently produced a line of watches labeled 'E. Howard Watch Co., Boston, U.S.A.' These watches are commonly called Keystone-Howards. For information on your Keystone-Howard watch, please see our Keystone-Howard page.
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E. Howard Watch Sizes
Sizes of Howard watches were designated using the Dennison system of measurement (see table below). By 1869, Howard had progressed from the 'N' size movements (approximately 18-size) to the smaller 'L' size movements (approximately 16-size). Howard produced watches in sizes G, I, J, K, L and N, which corresponds approximately to size 6, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 respectively.
Because Howard sizes were different than those of other American manufacturers, Howard movements will not fit properly in most 'standard' American watch cases. Many case-makers produced cases for Howard watches, often in 14K or 18K gold, and sometimes marked 'E. H. & Co.' in addition to a maker's mark (see table below).
The following case manufacturers are known to have produced gold cases for Howard.
Company | Mark |
---|---|
American Watch Case Co. | A.W.C.Co. |
Booz & Thomas | B & T |
Brooklyn Watch Case Co. | B.W.C. Co. |
Crosby & Mathewson | C & M |
C. E. Hale & Co. | C.E.H. & Co. |
Courvoisier & Wilcox Mfg. Co. | C.W. Mfg. Co. |
D. T. Warren & Co. | D T W & Co. |
Fellows & Co. | F & Co. |
Fellows & Shell | F & S |
J. M. Harper | J M H |
Jeannot & Schiebler | J S |
Keller & Untermeyer | K (inside) U |
Keller, Ettinger & Fink N.Y. | K E & F Co. |
Margot Bros. | M B |
Mathey Bros | M & B |
New York Gold Watch Case Co. | N.Y.G.W.C.Co. |
Peters & Boss | P & B |
Serex & Desmaison | S & D |
Serex & Maitre Bros | S & M B |
Serex & Robert | S & R |
Warren & Spadone | W & S |
Wheeler Parsons & Co. | W P & Co. |
Western Watch Case Co. | W.W.C.Mfg. Co. |
Modern, Battery-Powered 'E. Howard' Watch:
If you have a modern, battery-powered 'E. Howard' watch, your watch was definitely NOT made by the original E. Howard watch company. To the best of our knowledge, the 'E. Howard' brand name is currently owned by Lacrosse Technology which sells several models of 'radio-controlled' watch under the Howard name, often sold through ads in magazines. We recommend you contact Lacrosse for service questions about your modern E. Howard watch.
We're sorry that we can't help with your modern 'Howard' watch, which was neither made nor sold by the original Howard Watch Company. We'd be glad to talk with you about the repair of your vintage mechanical Howard watch.
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E. Howard Watch Company
Total Production: Approx. 120,000 Watches
Howard serial numbers are a bit different than some of the other American manufacturers, in that they could have multiple production 'runs' going on at the same time, using different series of serial numbers. As a result, one must differentiate the model of the watch in order to properly determine its date of manufacture. Also note that serial numbers were not always used sequentially e.g. SN 50,001 was produced before SN 30,001.
Our thanks to Clint Geller for his assistance with Howard production dates. For a much more detailed explanation of Howard production records, please visit the NAWCC Pocket Horology web site.
Date | Series | First S/N | Size & Layout |
---|---|---|---|
1858 | I | 123 | Size N (18s), divided plate |
1858 | II | 1801 | Size N (18s), divided plate |
1859 | N/A | 1101 | Helical Spring, very rare |
1862 | N/A | 3001 | Size K (14s), 3/4 plate |
1862 | III | 3301 | Size N (18s), 3/4 plate |
1863 | N/A | 3401 | Size I (10s), 3/4 plate |
1869 | V | 50,001 | Size L (16s), 3/4 plate |
1871 | IV | 30,001 | Size N (18s), 3/4 plate |
1874 | VI | 100,001 | Size G (6s), 3/4 plate |
1883 | VII | 200,001 | Size N (18s), 3/4 plate |
1884 | VIII | 300,001 | Size N (18s), 3/4 plate |
1890 | IX | 400,001 | Size N (18s), 3/4 plate |
1891 | X | 500,001 | Size J, (12s), 3/4 plate |
1893 | VII | 226,201 | Size N (18s), 3/4 plate,HC Ball Model |
1893 | VIII | 307,401 | Size N (18s), 3/4 plate, OF Ball Model |
1894 | VII | 228,001 | Size N (18s), split plate |
1895 | VIII | 309,001 | Size N (18s), split plate, OF |
1895 | XI | 600,001 | Size L (16s), split plate, HC |
1895 | XII | 700,001 | Size L (16s), split plate, OF |
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.
Can’t find your serial number in the table? Click here for an explanation and example of how to use our serial number tables.
Need help finding the serial number on your watch? Click here for instructions on how to identify and open most common case types.
E. Howard Watch Sizes | |
---|---|
Howard Letter | Inches |
A | 1 |
B | 1 1/16 |
C | 1 2/16 |
D | 1 3/16 |
E | 1 4/16 |
F | 1 5/16 |
G | 1 6/16 |
H | 1 7/16 |
I | 1 8/16 |
J | 1 9/16 |
K | 1 10/16 |
L | 1 11/16 |
N | 1 13/16 |
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