David

Mearto specialist

Hi Maureen, Thanks for sending in your grandfather's pocket watch to mearto.com for an appraisal. I know I had asked for a photos of the movement but I am now convinced it would not affect the ultimate price as you will see in my appraisal. I will try to help you with this today. TITLE: Gent's gold filled, keyless pendant wound and pendant set, open face pocket watch, made by the Waltham Watch Company, Waltham, Ma. USA circa 1910-1915. DESCRIPTION: CASE: 50 mm diameter, three leaf, gold filled, open face pocket watch with a fluted gilt ball pendant and horseshoe shaped bow placed at the twelve position relative to the dial. The back cover is engine turned and has a central shield shaped cameo for the owner's initials (left blank). The polished gilt bezel around the dial can be unscrewed by hand revealing the dial itself. The interior of the back cover reveals that the maker of this case was the Wadsworth Watch Case Company (see history) of Newport Kentucky, case number 2240261, the Referee model which is gold-filled with a gilt finish guaranteed to last at least 20 years. The Referee model trademark was filed by Wordsworth with the Federal government on May 14, 1914 and may have been in use for a few years prior to the filing of the trademark. . . DIAL: White round enameled dial with upright Arabic hours, open bar minutes with red Arabic markers placed every five minutes along the edge of the dial, sunken subsidiary seconds @6, steel spade hands and the upper dial marked for Waltham. . . MOVEMENT: Not shown but most likely this is a split three quarter plate movement with 7-15 jewels, damascened nickel plates and exposed ratchet and crown wheels. The movement would either be marked W.W.Co (Waltham Watch Company) or A.W.W.Co. (American Waltham Watch Company) if they used some of the older movement they had around the factory from earlier years. The other possibility is that Waltham did import Swiss made movement that would fit into their American made cases. They were so very busy that the Swiss watchmakers filled their need for more movements. . . Condition: Case - Very good condition with some scratches on the inside of the back cover. Dial - Very good to excellent. Movement- Not seen but assume original, genuine and functional at least with a cleaning. HISTORY: Waltham Watch Company::::: This American Company was the first to produce watches by the machined use of interchangeable parts. This was the vision of the founders of the company; Aaron Dennison, David Davis and Edward Howard. The initial company was located at Roxbury, Mass. in 1851, and was called the Warren Manufacturing Company. The business moved to Waltham, Ma in 1854 and the name had just been changed to the Boston Watch Company. That business failed in 1857 and was sold at a sheriff's sale, reorganized and called Appleton, Tracy and Company. In 1859 the Waltham Improvement Company merged with Appleton, Tracy to form the American Watch Company. Between 1859 and 1885 the firm operated under that corporate name. These early watches were key wound. Stem winding was introduced in 1870. The last key wound watches were produced in 1919. In 1885 the name was changed to the American Waltham Watch Company. In 1906 it became the Waltham Watch Company and in 1923 the Waltham Watch and Clock Company. Production ceased in 1950. . . . . . . . . . WADSWORTH WATCH CASE COMPANY::::Born in Birmingham, England in 1845 and immigrating to America in 1857, Henry Wadsworth founded this company in 1889. H.A. Wadsworth & Co was located in Newport, Kentucky from 1889-1892 and then as the Wadsworth Watch case company of Newport, Kentucky until 1900 when they moved to Dayton, Kentucky until 1953. They earned a high reputation in the trade with their solid gold and gold filled cases. They sold cases to the Hamilton, Elgin and Waltham watch manufacturers. In 1953 they became a division of the Elgin National Watch Company of Illinois. . . COMPARABLES: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/36855130_waltham-pocket-watch-and-albert-chain-aww-18-size (SOLD FOR $90) https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/43153836_waltham-pocket-watch-in-a-wadsworth-warranted-20-years (SOLD FOR $35) https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/47747675_gold-filled-pocket-watch (SOLD FOR $35 IN A REFEREE MODEL CASE) https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/66584121_waltham-20-year-gold-filled-pocket-watch-18s (SOLD FOR $150 IN 2018) https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/78490137_waltham-model-890-grade-seaside-pocket-watch (SOLD FOR $75 IN 2019) PRICING: As you can see a gold filled watch from the first quarter of the 20th century just does not bring significant money. In the very nice condition this watch is in I think the fair market value would be in the range of $60-$80. It might be worth keeping it in the family at that price. I wish you could have the the jackpot, but not many do in the antique watch field today. If you wish to send me a photos of the movement, I can make the appraisal more complete and slightly more accurate in terms of date of manufacture. The number we really needed was on the movement itself. I hope this helps you to further understand your grandfather’s pocket watch. Stay well and stay safe. My best, David Dear Maureen, Thank you for contacting Mearto with your appraisal inquiry. So that I may best assist you and provide an accurate appraisal I will need to see the following photos. 1) - I need to see the inside of the cover or covers in order to find out whether the watch is gold or gold filled or gold plated etc. 2) - I also need to see the movement clearly since Waltham made many different movements, some more valuable than others and I need the serial number which is on the movement to do a proper appraisal. If you do not know how to open the leaves or covers of the watch any jeweler will open it for you and you can take proper photographs of both the insides of the covers and the movement. To attempt an appraisal without viewing more of the watch is not going to provide you with an accurate answer. Please let me know you received this message and how you plan to proceed. Many Thanks, David