However, Marsh was working on a history of Waltham, possibly with the assistance of Keith at the time the books were prepared. No one knows why Waltham had the other volumes produced.

Watches after 7,500,000 can only be identified from the 1954 book that was intended to allow parts to be ordered accurately. The Pocket Watch Database has compiled data covering the major American pocket watch manufacturers and created an easy way to find information using the serial number on the watch movement. Watches before 7,500,000 can be identified much more accurately as to date of production and size of run than the later watches. One of the originals is at the Charles River Museum in Waltham. The second volume was copied in a small number by Joe Brown a couple of years ago and the copies were sold locally in Boston. The first volume that goes up to 1,500,000 has been published in condensed form by Heart of America Press. This was transcribed in hand in two volumes by a transcription firm in Boston. The second is the 'hand written' ledgers that were created around 1900 by Waltham from the job cards that were on file in the factory. The most common is the repair and identification list that was published last in 1954 and has been reproduced by Roy and others. The contemporary material catalogs (issued every few years from 1909 until the '50s) are the best source.There are two serial number sources. And in that regard, the factory serial number list compiled in 1954 was compiled long after most of these were made. is NOT the American Waltham Watch Company. Including Serial Numbers and Production Dates Waltham, Mass. If the serial number includes a letter, enter it along with the number when using the lookup feature. When in doubt, go back to the source material. Waltham etched a serial number on every watch movement along with its name and trademark. This confusion that Waltham created, by mis-using the Model column, has resulted in errors in the various digital databases.

Although appearing in the Model column, this was still not a model name, but the extension of the size designation. They did likewise with their 9-ligne movement in the 18-millions and the 7-1/2 ligne round movement in the 20-millions.īut, as the various ligne sizes became more common (around 22-million), and perhaps with a revised record protocol, they abbreviated it to “L”. The full size description - “10 ligne” did not fit in one column so they put “ligne” in the Model column. For example, look these up in the printed factory serial number list ('the gray book'): Click to expand.As the old saying goes - “Never say never”.

Waltham serial number lookup