Here we have a very elegant Ladies' Swiss (Geneve) key-wind pocket watch with inlaid enamel. It is an 8 jewel, key-wind, key-set, cylinder movement, executed in 18K solid gold... and what a beauty it is! The watch measures 33mm in diameter, by 45mm from the case bottom to the top of the bow, by 10mm thick. The "Geneve" designation is an indication of high quality and the ability to pass stringent testing. The inner dust cover is inscribed "Geneve Cylindre Rubis", indicating this designation and the fact that it has ruby jewels. Make sure you notice the extraordinary inlaid enamel in a three leaf foliate design on the back cover. There is some minor loss of enamel, but it is quite spectacular for such an old piece. It still has its original "Bullseye" crystal which is in great shape. The Geneva Finger Bridge movement is in fantastic condition and setting, winding, and keeping time just as it did over 143 years ago. Our…
The Victorian era was a time of excessive ornamentation and it was said that "too much was not enough". The Victorian Parlor Clock (or "Kitchen Clock" as they are called in the trade) was the perfect example of over-the-top design. These "Parlor Clocks" were decorated with applied gingerbread designs and were quite affordable for the common man. This particular "Parlor Clock" was made by the E. Ingraham Clock Company, circa 1892. It is all-original, eight day, time and strike, on coiled gong. The oak case measure 24" tall, by 15.5" in width, by 5" deep and our head clockmaker has it running just as it did over 126 years ago! The E. Ingraham Company was founded circa 1860 and Elias Ingraham, who was primarily a case maker with the Brewster & Ingrahams Company struck to make his own clocks. They had originally bought movements from a variety of sources, but by 1865 decided to bring it all in-house and…
Waltham was the second largest watch company in the world, after Elgin, and they were a force to be reckoned with! The American Waltham Watch Company (later Waltham) is one of America's oldest watchmakers. They held forth in Roxbury, later Waltham, Mass., and were one of the giants of the American watch industry. They made millions of pocket watches, but not so many wristwatches, due to the fact that they only made wristwatches until 1949. The travel clocks, like this one, are even harder to find in good, running condition. Waltham was in business at the factory until 1957, but only in order to re-case and sell inventory on hand. As the wristwatch rose in its ascendancy, Waltham was on the decline. This Waltham, however, was made circa 1926, when they were in stiff competition for the hearts of Americans. It is in the form that was used for both car clocks and, like this one, for travel clocks that could be…
The Waterbury Clock Company is an old one that was incorporated in the city of Waterbury, Connecticut, on March 5, 1857, but their origins harken back to January 14, 1843, when its parent company, the Benedict & Burnham Manufacturing Company, was founded.
Benedict & Burnham were manufacturers of sheet brass, and anything else that involved brass which they could fabricate. The industry was moving to all-brass movement plates by mid-1800s and brass clock movements were being used in millions of clocks manufactured by such companies as Seth Thomas, Gilbert Clock Co., Ansonia Clock Company and virtually all other clock manufacturers. It was natural for Benedict & Burnham to expand their influence by…
The Columbus Watch Company was making pocket watches in Columbus, Ohio from 1874 until 1903. As a matter of fact, Dietrich Gruen (later of the Gruen Watch Company) was the founder at the age of 27. He had developed a safety pinion (which prevented damage to the watch gears if a mainspring broke) and was granted a patent that same year. He started by finishing movements imported from Madretsch, Switzerland (a suburb of Biel...a well known watch-making area). By 1882, D. Gruen and his partner W. J. Savage began making watches locally and by 1884 were also making their own dials. This particular Columbus was made circa 1891 and is housed in a yellow gold-filled, 18 size, hunting case. It contains a full-plate, lever-set, gilded, 7 jewel movement with the famous "Patented Pinion". By 1894, the company went into receivership and Gruen started again as D. Gruen & Sons, emerging with the later fame of…
The Elgin Watch Company had a great sense of what the public wanted and how to make those watches that filled the bill. This ladies' solid gold, "O" size hunting case really hit the nail on the head. It was elegant and unobtrusive and it added just the right touch to a lady's costume, circa 1897. The 14k solid gold case measures 36mm in diameter, by 49mm (from the case bottom to the top of the bow), by 11mm thick... just the right size to wear on a slide chain or on a watch pin. It is a 7 jewel (typical for a ladies watch at this time) and it bears the inscription (on the inner dust cover) "Cora Partlow from Grandpa January 17, 1897"... if only they could talk and tell us what they had seen in the late 1890s. The porcelain dial is beautiful in its simplicity and is contrasted by the delicate blued steel hands. This is the only one we have had the pleasure to own with these fascinating concentric circles as the case design. The…
We get more Elgin pocket watches than almost any other company's production, due to our proximity to the Elgin area (a suburb of Chicago) and we are delighted that this is so because, Elgin was a wonderful company that made a really nice watch. The plus side for you, today, is that we have also purchased a large stock of Elgin parts, over the years we have been in business (38 and counting) and we can fix anything they made, with all original parts. This 15 jewel, three-quarter plate, nickel movement in a yellow gold-filled, 16 size hunting case measuring 47mm in diameter, by 41mm from the bottom of the case to the top of the bow, by 8mm thick. The watch has been lovingly cared for since 1910 and our head watchmaker tells me that he thinks it is good for another 100 years, if you take good care of it. The porcelain dial is very nice and it sports black Arabic numerals and blued steel hands. Notice the seconds bit at the…
Waltham was a wonderful and prolific watch manufacturer located in Waltham, Ma. and they were in business from 1851 to 1957, in various iterations. Their earlier efforts, circa 1850, in Roxbury, MA, resulted in the Howard, Dennison & Davis moniker later changed to Boston Watch Company, then Appleton, Tracey, & Co., the American Watch Co., and finally the Waltham Watch Company. They were one of the giants of the industry and second largest only to Elgin. This Waltham is a 21 Jewel, "Crescent Street", adjusted to temperature and 5 positions. It is a lever-set, yellow gold-filled case, double sunk porcelain dial (with bold Arabic numerals), railroad watch that measures 51mm in diameter, by 62mm from the case bottom to the top of the bow, by 18mm thick (including the crystal). It is a screw back, screw bezel case and the hands are bold blued steel. There is a seconds bit at the 6 o'clock position that also has a…
The Rockford Watch company held forth from 1873 until 1915, a fairly short time in the history of watch factories, but they really made their mark due to their quality pocket watches. They only made 1,000,000 watches over that time period. So, there are not many about, today. The factory started with machinery that they purchased from the Cornell Watch Company and, at their zenith, employed about 400 workers. There is a contemporary account of production being about 70 watches a day with a sidebar saying that they were behind in their orders. By 1888, they had increased production to 150 per day and by 1901 they were re-organized with plans for increased production, but there were many impediments in the way. On September 26th, 1903, their 100 foot tall brick chimney was struck by lightening damaging a 40 foot section and causing a ton of bricks to fall and break out the windows on the north side…
Many ladies' wristwatches are kind of ho-hum, but not this Swiss Credos beauty! Its styling is evocative of the era of "Big Fin" automobiles and dramatic styling circa mid-1950s. It is executed in 18k solid rose gold and is the only one of these that we have ever had. The case measures 19mm wide (not including the crown) by 41mm lug to lug, by 8mm thick (including the crystal). The 17 jewel movement is in fantastic condition and our head watchmaker has it setting, winding, and keeping time just as it should.
Make sure you take a gander at the "Zoom-In" views to see the spectacular lugs on this one. They sweep your eye away from the main body of the watch…
Gruen was the inventor and innovator of the watch called "Curvex" and they produced many different models of the "Curvex" for both men and women from the mid 1930s through the 1940s. The ladies' models are harder to find today, but just as interesting as the gentlemen's models. The "Curvex" models were not only visually appealing, but they were also ergonomic in shape. A little known fact is that the curved movement allowed Gruen to fill more of the curved case with the movement, as opposed to using a smaller flat movement. Many other companies attempted to create similar curved case watches, but could not duplicate the movement technology due to strict patent infringement laws. In the Gruen "Curvex", this made for a larger balance wheel, bigger mainspring, etc., which meant greater reliability for the wearer…
There aren't many ladies' wristwatches that really fit the bill when it comes to Art Deco stainless steel watches... but this one does! It is a beautiful piece with a Swiss, 15 jewel movement and a stainless steel case that has a very dramatic lug design. The case measures 16mm wide (not including the crown), by 41mm lug to lug, by 10mm thick (including the crystal). The profile of the case, seen in the side-view photo, is quite impressive in its presentation and is highlighted by the very curved "Hi-Dome" crystal.
The sculpted lug design is to die for, as is the two-tone dial with its rose gold dial center and outer minute track centered by a silvered chapter square that…