1901 Waltham inquiry

[collin]

hello,
Attached is a photo of a 1901 12s(?) Waltham in a sterling case. Were Walthams of this size and finish primarily ladies watches and if so, why the red minute markings? There is no jewel count on the movement, so I assume that 7 jewels were used and the movement is of a modest grade. Are these stylish sterling models more of a novelty than a rarity? Thanks once again for enduring my amateur quetionings, collin

[collin]

hello,
Attached is a photo of a 1901 12s(?) Waltham in a sterling case. Were Walthams of this size and finish primarily ladies watches and if so, why the red minute markings? There is no jewel count on the movement, so I assume that 7 jewels were used and the movement is of a modest grade. Are these stylish sterling models more of a novelty than a rarity? Thanks once again for enduring my amateur quetionings, collin

[Tom Huber]

Collin, You are right that your Waltham 12S is a seven jewel. It is a model 94, meaning that it was designed in 1894 and introduced around that time. The 12S watch is a man's watch. As time progressed, styles went to smaller, slimmer watches, and the watch companies met the challenge with the 12S watch. These were popular up through the 1920's and 30's

Tom

[Kent]

Hi collin:

You may be unaware that 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 (http://www.nawcc-info.org/WalthamDB/LookupSN.asp). Should the date not be listed there, an alternate means is this Waltham Production Date (http://www.oldwatch.com/walthamdate.html) chart.

[collin]

thank you Kent,
I was unaware of the NAWCC data base. I have seen lists with approximate production dates, but early Waltham info on the internet is scetchy at best. Any recomendations for a quasi-accurate early american watches book- historically oriented? Thanks again for everyones efforts, collin

[Kent]

collin:

I don't think that there is a single book devoted to early American watches, but there's bits and pieces in a large number of books. Many are available on loan by mail to members from the NAWCC Library & Research Center (http://www.nawcc.org/Library/library.htm). The same is true for our bi-monthly publication, the NAWCC Bulletin, for which there is an Online Index (http://24.104.50.30/BulletinIndex/bulsrch.htm). Back issues are also available on loan by mail to members from the NAWCC Library & Research Center. Just send in the Request Form (http://www.nawcc.org/Library/lendform.htm).

Kent