Unusual Waltham Dial

[Jade2000]

I am trying to find information on a watch I have. It is a coin silver P.S. Bartlett, 17 jewel, Waltlham size 18 pocket watch. The serial number is
14021779. The dial is in mint condition and reads au bon marche
black lake Q.P


This was my great grandfathers watch that is now mine. I have been looking for information but have found nothing past the basic info.
I am a great Waltham watch enthusiast and would love to find out more about this watch. I will attach a picture.

[rrwatch]

Your watch is an Model 1883 Waltham made about 1905. It has a Canadian heritage. The "au bon marche" is probably a reference to the retailer who originally sold the watch in Black Lake, located in the Province of Quebec. Black Lake is a small town in Southeastern Quebec, with a 2001 population of only 4,109.
The porcelain enamel dial with the 1 to 12 hours in Arabic and the inner 13 to 24 hours in Roman was commonly (but not exclusively) used in Canada when 24 hour time notation was often used for train scxhedules and other purposes.

[4thdimension]

According to my wife "Au Bon Marche" means "a good deal" or "sale". It caught my eye because I have a beautiful 1904 French toy catalog from a large department store that also goes by this name.
FWIW!
-Cort
<(';')>

[Kent]

hi Jade2000:

To add to what Ed posted, you can see where the Waltham P.S. Bartlett fit in the Waltham line in this scan of a page from a 1904 T. Eaton Catalog (http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-9/1217458/1904_T_Eaton_Catalog_Pg_141_LR.jpg). At that time, T. Eaton was a large mail-order firm based in Toronto, Ont. It shows up as watches number S1-41, S1-28 and S1-14. A catalog picture and description of the P.S. Bartlett movment can be see on page 76 of the 1903 Oy Company Catalog at:
www.elginwatches.com/scans/sales_catalogs/1903_Oy_Company/m_index.html

To view, go to the Elgin Watch Collectors Site Home Page at elginwatches.org, then copy and paste the address in your browser's address bar and click on 'Go'.

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 (even then, uncased movements were furnished to the trade at least until the 1960'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.

Note: The grade of a case is the quality of the materials and work that went into it. Each case grade was offered in many different engraved designs.

A short history of American watch cases, within the online article "[color=blue]Decorative Aspects of American Horology[/colour]," by Philip Poniz, can be viewed on The Antiquorum Magazine (http://www.antiquorum.com/vox/june_2002/poniz/poniz.htm) website.

If you can tell us about (or post a picture of) the trade marks or names stamped into the inside back of the case, we may be able to tell you a little about the case material and its manufacturer.

Watches that are carried daily need to be cleaned and oiled at regular intervals. Railroad time service rules varied, but requirements for cleaning on a basis of once every year and a half were typical for railroaders at the turn of the century. By the mid-1920’s this was extended to two year intervals.

The “Sears, Roebuck and Co., Inc. Catalogue No. 104,” Chicago, IL, 1897, reprinted by Chelsea House, Philadelphia, PA, 1968 had this to say on page 371:

“We Guarantee for Five Years All the movements sold by us. This does not refer to the life of the movement, but that we will for five years from date of purchase, correct free of charge any fault which may occur from defective material or workmanship. Any well made movement will run a lifetime if properly cared for.
“Remember That your watch should not run longer than one and one-half years without having the old oil cleaned off and fresh oil supplied. This must be done at the expense of the purchaser.
“The balance wheel of all modern watches makes 18,000 beats or revolutions per hour; 432,000 per day, or 157,788,000 per year. An engine or sewing machine will be oiled several times per day, but we have known people to carry a watch for ten years without having it cleaned or fresh oil applied.
“Usually, a movement thus treated is of no value, being entirely worn out. Take good care of your watch if you wish it to perform its duty properly, for it is a very delicate machine. Our charge for cleaning and oiling is 75 cents. The regular retail price is $1.50.”

Watch cleaning and oiling costs a bit more today than it did a hundred years ago. Check out What You Need To Know About Watch Repair at Wayne Schlitt's Elgin Website:
[color=brown]www.midwestcs.com/elgin/help/watch_repair.html[/colour]
[color=blue]To view, go to the [/colour][color=brown]Elgin Watch Collectors Site Home Page[/colour] [color=blue]at[/colour] [color=brown]elginwatches.org[/colour], [color=blue]then copy and paste the address in your browser's address bar and click on [/colour]'Go'.

Also, check out Frequently Asked Questions (http://www.pocketwatchsite.com/faq.html) on the Pocket Watch Site.

Also, Ed Ueberall, of The Escapement (http://members.aol.com/stdwatch) has put together some notes on the Use And Care of Your Vintage Watch (http://k_singer.home.comcast.net/use_and_care_of_your_vintage_wat.htm) that may be helpful.

Service Frequency
If the watch is run continually, a cleaning and oiling is needed every 3-5 years. If you're only going to wear your watch occasionally, this ought to be done once at the onset and about every ten years thereafter. If you're not going to carry it (or run it), don't bother getting it serviced. Many of the watches in my collection (that aren't run) haven't been cleaned and oiled in 20 or 30 years or more.

Good luck,