Puritan Watch Cases

[beachouse45]

I have an American Waltham pocket watch, movement # 6684490, 1894/1895. The case is stamped "PURITAN 14K" #355048 inside the back cover. Can I realistically assume that it is real "14K gold" or could it be "Gold Filled"?
Any help on this will be very much appreciated!

[Kent]

Hi beachouse45:

The Puritan case is a gold-flled case made by Bates & Bacon and guaranteed for 5 years (http://photos23.flickr.com/31451679_8a9a1e1c49_o.jpg). Although the ad doesn't specifically state that the cases shown are gold-filled, the fact that they are guaranteed is the clue. They're guaranted not to wear through to the base metal underneath the gold for the number of years indicated in the ad.

[Jon Hanson]

These are basically plated cases, and not very durable.

[beachouse45]

Thanks for the responses. Did Puritan ever make 14K gold cases?? The watch I have does not say "guaranteed 5 yrs". It just says 14K.

[Jon Hanson]

Not that I ever remember seeing.

Most "later" solid gold cases usually read the fineness, state solid gold, or warranted to be bla bla; however, the many exceptions are before the US gov't changed the law. Many early Amer. cases that are genuine solid 14 or 18K just have the "K" stamp by known honest makers.

[Kent]

Thanks for the responses. Did Puritan ever make 14K gold cases?? The watch I have does not say "guaranteed 5 yrs". It just says 14K.

Many times, the registered trade marks, in this case the Puritan name, describes the guarantee within the trademark registration description.

[Jon Hanson]

anything 5 yr is NOT SOLID GOLD

[Kent]

anything 5 yr is NOT SOLID GOLD

This not only applies to the five year cases Jon is talking about. As indicated above, cases marked to guaranteed for a number of years (any number of years) are gold-filled, guaranteed not to wear through to the base/composition metal for the number of years stated.

Before Federal Regulations Outlawed the Practice (http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y284/walt845/1924_Jan_1_Cease_Guarantee_Stamp.jpg), some case companies indicated the thickness of the outer layer by the number of years for which the case was warranted. Not all case companies were forthright about marking the cases or honoring the warranty (which is what gave rise to the federal regulations). These were the makers of the cut-rate cases, bearing names few of us recognize, the surviving examples of which are almost always badly worn. Nevertheless, like any product that carries a guarantee today, case guarantees from the reputable companies were in effect, within their specified time, as long as those companies stayed in business. Crescent (http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-9/1217458/1892_May_25_Crescent_Guarantee_LR.jpg), Philadelphia (http://static.flickr.com/21/31451680_9e0334ef4f_o.jpg) (which stood behind the B&B Puritan guarantee after Philadelphia bought out B&B), Fahys (http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-9/1217458/1901_Feb_20_Fahys_LR.jpg), Illinios (http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-9/1217458/1900_May_9_IWCCo_Guarantee_LR.jpg), and quite a few others, were companies who would replace the cases if the gold wore through to the brass within the guarantee period. The watch companies, such as Hamilton, Keystone-Howard, Illinois, Elgin and others also probably stood behind their cases, to not do so would seem to have been unthinkable to them.

The watch case companies guaranteed their best gold-filled cases to wear permanently. The case would be replaced if it ever wore through to the brass. Examples of these are the:

Crescent Extra (http://photos14.flickr.com/16861337_9e0ca33a48_o.jpg) grade,
Fahys Permanent (http://photos13.flickr.com/19807186_331580a49c_o.jpg) grade, and
Illinois (Watch Case Co.) Elgin Pride (http://photos16.flickr.com/19807185_3b823d0f73_o.jpg) grade.