FAHYS & MONTAUK w/A.W.W. CO. MOVEMENT

[steelbreeze]

I was going thru my Dad's stuff he left after passing and ran across a F&M No 1 case with patent date of April 22, 1879. I have read a lil here about the case itself but would like to know if any were more valuable than others and what makes the distinction. The movements are by a company who's engraving inside is A.W.W. Co. Waltham Mass. The case serial # 589475. The movement serial # 4784727. The back of the case has a very worn engraving of an Elk and the face has a Masons symbol and another 3 color symbol with the letters C, F and B. Also it seems to have a type of signature under the Roman numeral XII that reads American Waltham W Co. W. J. Parkin. Also inside the back cover is hand etche VERY tiny the letter BJVC underlined and below the line is 1074. The sunken second hand has normal numerals. Also it is an open face. Just curious if there were any produced that were more rare than others. Unfortunately it no longer runs. Although it appears to be in somewhat good condition. Any information would be greatly appreciated. My dad was from Chicago and I assume it would have been his fathers. But that is merely a guess. Thanx for your time and insight.

[ben_hutcherson]

Your Fahys Mountauk case is a gold-filled case. We can't comment directly on values here, but values for non-precious cases tend to be very dependent on the amount of wear present, with crisp examples carrying a good premium over heavily worn ones.

Your movement is a 16 size model 1888. It is a 7 jewel unadjusted movement, which puts it at the low end of the quality scale.

Your dial sounds quite interesting from the way you've described. I know I would appreciate seeing a photo of it.

[steelbreeze]

I read about the case and it's gold quality in other threads. And as far as value, I meant more on the desireability rather than dollars. I will try and post a picture of the face if I can upload it to the forum. Seeing that is seems to be a presentation face I figured it would be a "low end" model. Thanx for the info so far. Going to take the picture now.

[steelbreeze]

Here it is.

[Kent]

Hi steelbreeze:

Welcome to the NAWCC American Pocket Watch Message Board!

To add to the good information that Ben posted:

Checking the references listed in the Waltham Watches Encyclopedia article, Waltham movement serial number 4784727 can be seen to be a 16-size, 7-jewel, grade No. 20, open-face movement, built in about 1891. This was a popular movement with over 126,000 being built.

Your watch case was made by Joseph Fahys & Co.. As stated in that company's own ads, the Montauk grade case was gold-filled. The "hand-scratched" characters in the case back are watch repairers' marks.

Just about the nicest feature of your watch is the hand-decorated dial

Having gathered and printed out information about a family watch, it is a wise idea to write out as much as you know about the family member to whom the watch originally belonged. Then, add the names and relationships of the family members who passed it down to the current holder. Make up a booklet with this and all of the watch information and try to keep it with the watch. This way, the watch has real family heritage instead of it just being an old family watch, the identity and relationship of the original owner having been lost in the distant past.

Please let us know if you have further questions about your watch,