Ball Watch Co. private-label watches

[Jerry Treiman]

NAWCC Chapter 52 - Los Padres (California) posted a Webb C. Ball biography from 1918 - https://new.nawcc.org/images/chapte...ted as Chapter 52 Articles/Ball Biography.pdf This biography recounts how The Webb C. Ball Company was actually a “composite organization” that included the Ball Watch Co. and Ball Standard watches, the retail jewelry store and the railroad watch inspection service. There have been numerous threads and discussions of the Ball Standard watches for railroad service, but what about the private-label watches that were marked for, and sold in his Cleveland store, just as any jeweler might have ordered watches made with their name for general sales? Many of these seem to be Swiss. Was there a range of styles, sources and quality or did Ball only sell the better class of watches?

So I wonder, skipping the usual “Standard” and “Commercial” grades from American companies, what private label watches do you have to show, marked for “The Webb C. Ball Watch Co.” or “The Webb C. Ball Co.”? Does the style of the name reflect a specific time period?

I can start with two examples:


The small one (10-ligne) is by Waltham from about 1910. It has a high-grade, specially-finished 16-jewel movement with gold center wheel and settings and a steel escape wheel. The case is the earliest example I have found from the shop of H.W. Matalene - case #124 - and it bears his 1909 patent, applied to a pin-set movement. The inside back of the case is stamped “The Webb C. Ball Watch Co., Cleveland” and the dial (possibly re-finished) is marked with the abbreviated “Ball Watch Co., Cleveland”. (The hinged back of the case is plain with a monogram).


The larger watch (17 ligne) has a very high grade 21-jewel movement “Made Especially for the Webb C. Ball Co., Cleveland” by Robert Cart. This watch probably dates from the 1920s and is an AWCCo. case. Cart is better known for his wandering hour, (or Heures Sautantes), watches made for Breguet and Vacheron & Constantin.

 

[Kent]

Jerry:

I'm surprised that the larger watch lacks a patent regulator.

 

[Jerry Treiman]

Jerry:

I'm surprised that the larger watch lacks a patent regulator.

I have actually seen this - a simple regulator - on many high-grade Swiss watches.

 

[Old rookie]

Here is a Ball/Hamilton PL for J.C.Woelfle of Peoria, IL Woelfle was a jeweler in Peoria for 52 years. He was born in Baden, Germany on 16 Jan 1843 and died in Peoria on 6 Dec 1919. He sold standard watches but I have yet to find any link with him and the Toledo Peoria and Western Railroad.
Note the center jewel has been brutally attacked by some evil watch gremlin.

 

[johnbscott]

Recently, I completed the restoration of Hamilton 16s 58716 marked (dial and movement) for Ball & Co, Cleveland.

 

[Rodney Leon]

Hi, Jerry told me I might want to post this in this forum. I had it in the European watch forum to get more information. I contacted Longines and they did some research for me so I will include what they sent back. It is a, Longines Webb C. Ball Co. 12s, 17 Jewel, Cal 1889. in a 14k White Gold Filled Art Deco Case Wadsworth Shape Pat 12 9 24 number 7188160. Movement Serial number 3828077. Pendent set. I have a close up of the movement stamped “Made expressly for the Webb C, Ball Co. By Longines watch Co. Swiss Seventeen (17) Jewels Adjutsted to temperature and two Positions.” This is letter from Longines. ”Further to your request, we are pleased to provide the information contained in Longines' handwritten registers. Originally, the serial number 3'828'077 identifies a Longines mechanical manually wound movement, caliber 18.89. It was invoiced on 24 September 1925 to the company A. Wittnauer Co., which was at that time our agent for the USA. The other parts of the watch were produced locally under license from Longines. Unfortunately, since the relevant archives are not in our possession, we are unable to provide any further information on your model. For your information, Longines does not provide information regarding the number of pieces produced of a specific model. But at that time (and far after), Longines movements were among the best worlwide. This movement is equipped with a special regulator-adjuster, i.e. a device for facilitating fine adjustments of the index to correct the daily rate of the watch, which makes it a very accurate watch, in addition to the overall good quality of the movement.”

 

[Jerry Treiman]

At the recent San Diego (La Mesa) regional I found a pair of presentation boxes that The Webb C. Ball Co. used for watches sold in their Cleveland store. One or the other is perfect for my Robert Cart Ball watch that I showed in post #1. I'm not sure which one I will settle on for this watch. Does anyone else have examples of the boxes Ball provided with their watches?