1883 American Waltham Railroad Pocket Watch Locomotive - May 05, 2017 | Les Antiquites Maison In Ny
LiveAuctioneers Logo

lots of lots

1883 American Waltham Railroad Pocket Watch Locomotive

Related Watches

More Items in Watches

View More

Recommended Jewelry

View More
item-52381031=1
item-52381031=2
item-52381031=3
item-52381031=4
item-52381031=5
1883 American Waltham Railroad Pocket Watch Locomotive
1883 American Waltham Railroad Pocket Watch Locomotive
Item Details
Description
A fine original 19th Century American Waltham rail road pocket watch with a fine engraved 15 Jewel American Waltham movement serial #14821806, a stainless steel case a white enamel dial hand painted with an steam locomotive, Arabic numeral minute and hour designations, blacken steel pear shaped hands and subsidiary seconds. This timepiece is in excellent working condition and would make an impressive gift or addition to fine American, Railroad or Pocket Watch collection. - CASE SIZE: 57.5mm / SIZE: 18 - CONDITION: Just Serviced, excellent working condition. BACKGROUND: Waltham’s factory was almost as impressive as its products. By the end of the 1860s, the giant facility employed hundreds of men and women, numbers unheard of in the watch industry. But when the Civil War broke out, business dropped to almost nothing. Factory managers quickly downsized the plant by cutting hours, encouraging employees to join the military, and shuffling jobs to make sure everyone had something to do, even if it was only one task. Thankfully, soldiers needed watches, and Waltham survived the war by meeting this demand with its relatively cheap timepieces. Movements from this period are extremely rare today. Like Hamilton and other watchmakers, Waltham made railroad watches. In order for a watch to qualify as railroad-grade it had to be large (size 16 or 18), have at least 17 jewels in its movement, feature easy-to-read Arabic numerals, and meet a number of other technical requirements. Some of the most famous Waltham models of the 19th century included the 1857 line, the high-end Vanguard (it had 23 jewels in its movement), the Crescent Street, and the Wm. Ellery, which was reportedly carried in the pocket of Abraham Lincoln. Other Waltham lines included the Santa Fe, whose railroad-grade movement self-adjusted to maintain accuracy even in extreme temperatures, and the Lady Waltham, a smaller watch built specifically for women. The Lady Waltham was the first of its kind, and other companies like Elgin quickly jumped on the ladies’ pocket-watch bandwagon. At the beginning of the 20th century, Waltham movements were considered so reliable that the Canadian Pacific Railway commissioned special, railroad-grade movements. Some of these pieces were marked on the movement with the railroad’s emblem (a shield and a beaver). Other movements bore the words "Canadian Railway Time Service." They’re difficult to find today, and are great examples of post-1900 pocket-watch movements. In the 1920s and 1930s, Waltham didn’t embrace Art Deco as much as other watchmakers, focusing instead on railroad-grade chronometers. The venerable Vanguard brand was a notable exception, selling consistently throughout the 1930s, despite the drop in pocket-watch sales caused by the popularity of the wristwatch. During World War II, Waltham was contracted by the U.S. Army to make speedometers, tachometers, chronographs, and other military equipment. After the war, pocket-watch production came to a virtual standstill in favor of wristwatches and other domestic items. Like other American watch companies, Waltham could not compete with cheaper imported movements, and the firm closed its doors in 1957.
Condition
Excellent. See description for eventual details.
Buyer's Premium
  • 19%

1883 American Waltham Railroad Pocket Watch Locomotive

Estimate $1,008 - $1,176
See Sold Price
Starting Price $840
Get approved to bid.

Shipping & Pickup Options
Item located in New York, NY, us
See Policy for Shipping

Payment

Les Antiquites Maison

Les Antiquites Maison

New York, NY, United States445 Followers
TOP