Howard Out of Range Serial Number

[alavaw]

I have been researching serial numbers for a Howard watch. The serial number on the watch movement is 1166614. This appears to be out of range for Howard watch serial numbers. Any ideas?

Thank you.

[Kent]

Hi alavaw

Welcome to the NAWCC Pocket Watch Message Board!

Your Howard serial number 1166614 falls into the middle of a run of 12-size, 17-jewel movements. Of course this is a Keystone-Howard serial number.

The following information is mostly based upon “The Howard Ten Size Watch,” Arthur N. Borg, NAWCC Bulletin No. 129 (August 1967): pp.941-64.

The Keystone Watch Case Co. purchased the rights to use the Howard name on watches (Note: from the E. Howard Watch & Clock Co. (http://static.flickr.com/30/98352686_6e0ccd8a60_o.jpg)) sometime around 1903, reportedly to provide a market for their better grades of cases. At first, the firm had watches built under the E. Howard name by the American Waltham Watch Co., which Keystone-Howard then marketed. The watches were labeled "E. Howard Watch Co."

Its said that Keystone "finished" these watches at the New York Standard Watch Co., a firm, based in New Jersey, already owned by Keystone. However, it may be that the "finishing" may have simply meant mounting a dial and placing the movement in a case. The reason for the quotation marks is that the term "finish" in the watch industry usually refers to the process of turning a set of raw movement parts into a smoothly functioning movement, as well as adding whatever decorating that was to be done. The overall quality of watches produced by Standard was well below the high grade watches that Keystone-Howard offered and the New York Standard plant may not have had the necessary capability of such fine work.

Back in 1901, the Philadelphia Watch Case Co. had purchased the U.S. Watch Co. at Waltham, see:
elginwatches.org/scans/non_elgin_articles/m_1901_philadelpha_buys_US_watch_co.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'.
Jerry Treiman reported in a message board thread About a U.S. Watch Co. Watch that "... the history provided in legal documents for the anti-trust case against Keystone ... states that all of the capital stock of a newly organized Philadelphia Watch Case Co. (August 1900) was owned by Keystone. Thus, Keystone acquired a watch factory in Massachusetts. By 1905, Keystone-Howard had patented a 16-size, 17-jewel, three-quarter plate movement design which they began making in both hunting-case and open-face versions under the “E. Howard Watch Co.” name. Keystone-Howard stopped manufacturing watches around 1930, a victim of the Depression. The rights to the Howard name for use on watches was then sold to Hamilton.

A reprint of a 48-page 1912 Howard catalog is available from Vintage Catalogs (http://www.vintagecatalogs.com/). Also, a reprint of a 52-page 1918 Howard catalog (Catalogue No. 7) is available from Arlington Books (http://www.arlingtonbooks.com).

[alavaw]

Kent-

Thank you so much for the detailed information!

Alan