Rotherham - Anyone heard of them?

[Larry Jones 98326]

exmile,

I have a Rotherham at the moment, but I don't know much about mine, either: 18K demi-hunter, presentation, and about 1909, I think. A few Brits seem to monitor this board, maybe one of them can enlighten us.....

[Kent]

Well,

One can always post the question at the British Horological Institute (http://www.bhi.co.uk/) website.

Kent

[Jeff Hess]

I have owned a TON of Rotherhams watches and most of them were of Swiss manufacture. SOme were of English manufacture. All were cased in coventry by the retailer, Rotherhams. The most intersting that I have owned is one with a GREAT inscription "This watch was given by the firm of Wilsdorf and Davis to MR. XXXX XXXXX after Wilsdorf and Davis took two watches for repair and then lost them."
Hah! Rotherhams must have seen Wilsdorf and Davis (later Rolex) as a serious threat! In 1747 the firm of Vale was established it soon became Vale & Howlette, then Vale, Howlette, Carr & Rotherham. Richard Kevitt Rotherham was a former apprentice of the firm which eventually became Rotherham & Sons. Rotherhams went on to become the major employer and manufacturer and came to be a heavy seller of pocket wtches and qrist watches. Good luck! Jeff Hess

[Barry G]

I have owned a number of Rotherhams, and always understood Rotherham to simply be a marketer of watches made elsewhere and not actually a maker. In the latest issue of Shugart's "Complete price Guide to Watches" [p. 447] he talks about Rotherham & Sons [1880-1930] as being one of various "wholesalers who dealt with the retail trade". He also mentions that most of these companies marketed identical watches, so again it probably doesn't really mean much to talk about a "Rotherham" watch in the way that you would refer to, say, a "Longines".

Regards,

Barry

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My Online Pocket Watch Collection (http://barrygoldberg.net/watches.htm)

[Jerry Freedman]

Read page 66 of NAWCC supplement #20, by Phil Priestly. He indicates that Rotherham was a watch manufacturer in Coventry. He quotes from Baillie stating that the frim was in business as early as 1794. He also quotes from the Horological Jounal for 1888 which states that 400 persons including 100 females were employed. That does not sound like a retailer. This is I believe is referring to case making.