John F
10-30-2005, 04:17 AM
This is a tough one, Jeannie. There are no published serial number records for New York Standard watches, although at one point someone here was compiling NYS data with that in mind, I believe. While they initially used consecutive serial numbers like most other watch companies, by the early 1900s they dropped the millions prefix so with each new million NYS used the same 6 digits over and over (they were in business from the mid-1880s, were purchased by the Keystone Watch Case Co. in the early 1900s and continued under the NYS name until the advent of the Depression, having made some 30 million watches). Apparently they later appended a code to the partial serial number that indicated the size, grade, etc. In short, there's no reliable way to accurately date NYS watches by the serial number or code.
The same goes for case serial numbers - no records have survived or apparently weren't kept. The Philadelphia Watch Case Co. was formed in the late 1880s, and was purchased by the Keystone Watch Case Co. around the same time that Keystone bought NYS.
Hope this helps.
John
The same goes for case serial numbers - no records have survived or apparently weren't kept. The Philadelphia Watch Case Co. was formed in the late 1880s, and was purchased by the Keystone Watch Case Co. around the same time that Keystone bought NYS.
Hope this helps.
John