Kent
01-19-2004, 05:37 AM
Frank:
You can lean some basic information about your watch movement (the "works") by entering its serial number at the NAWCC Information Storage - Waltham Serial Number Data Base (http://www.nawcc-info.org/WalthamDB/LookupSN.asp).
Only a small percentage of American watches (or Swiss watches for the North American market) were cased at the factories prior to the mid-1920's. Most watch companies just made movements (the "works") in industry standard sizes. The case companies made cases in those same sizes. The practice at that time was to go to a jeweler, select the quality of the movement and then pick out the desired style and quality of case. The jeweler would then fit the movement to the case in a matter of moments.
Or, watches were sold by mail-order. Large outfits such as Sears, Roebuck & Co., Montgomery Ward, or T. Eaton (in Canada), would offer the movements in a variety of cases of different design and quality in their catalogs. Smaller mail-order retailers would case the watches, typically in a 20-year gold filled case and offer it only that way, with the buyer not having a choice of cases.
Nickel cases, sometimes referred to as nickel-silver cases, were relatively inexpensive and are durable. When polished up properly, they attain a nice luster, appearing like silver, but not quite as "white." American watch case companies produced nickel cases under various trade names including,
Alaska Metal - Sold by Sears, Roebuck & Co.
Argentine - Bay State Watch Case Co.
Oresilver - Fahys Watch Case Co.
Nickel Silver - Illinois Watch Case Co.
Silverine - Dueber Watch Case Co.
Silverode - Philadelphia. Watch Case Co.
Silveroid - Keystone Watch Case Co.
Good luck,
Kent
That guy down in Georgia :smile:
You can lean some basic information about your watch movement (the "works") by entering its serial number at the NAWCC Information Storage - Waltham Serial Number Data Base (http://www.nawcc-info.org/WalthamDB/LookupSN.asp).
Only a small percentage of American watches (or Swiss watches for the North American market) were cased at the factories prior to the mid-1920's. Most watch companies just made movements (the "works") in industry standard sizes. The case companies made cases in those same sizes. The practice at that time was to go to a jeweler, select the quality of the movement and then pick out the desired style and quality of case. The jeweler would then fit the movement to the case in a matter of moments.
Or, watches were sold by mail-order. Large outfits such as Sears, Roebuck & Co., Montgomery Ward, or T. Eaton (in Canada), would offer the movements in a variety of cases of different design and quality in their catalogs. Smaller mail-order retailers would case the watches, typically in a 20-year gold filled case and offer it only that way, with the buyer not having a choice of cases.
Nickel cases, sometimes referred to as nickel-silver cases, were relatively inexpensive and are durable. When polished up properly, they attain a nice luster, appearing like silver, but not quite as "white." American watch case companies produced nickel cases under various trade names including,
Alaska Metal - Sold by Sears, Roebuck & Co.
Argentine - Bay State Watch Case Co.
Oresilver - Fahys Watch Case Co.
Nickel Silver - Illinois Watch Case Co.
Silverine - Dueber Watch Case Co.
Silverode - Philadelphia. Watch Case Co.
Silveroid - Keystone Watch Case Co.
Good luck,
Kent
That guy down in Georgia :smile: