Waltham Serial Number Lookup Pocket Watch
- Waltham Serial Number Lookup Pocket Watch
- Waltham Serial Number Lookup Pocket Watch Battery
- Waltham Serial Number Lookup Pocket Watch Strap
- Waltham Serial Number Lookup Pocket Watches
- Antique Waltham Watches Value
- Waltham Serial Number Lookup Pocket Watch
- American Waltham Pocket Watch Value
Look up your Waltham Pocket Watch Serial Number Here This is a story written in 1881 about the operation of the Waltham factory. It's quite long but all the same, very interesting. The history of the American Waltham Watch Co can be traced to the original formation of a company by three men, Howard, Davis & Dennison in 1850. The name was changed to 'Boston Watch Company' in September 1853, and the factory in Waltham, Massachusetts was built in October 1854. The movements produced here (serial numbers 1001 - 5000) were signed 'Dennison, Howard,& Davis,' 'C. Parker,' and 'P. The next movements produced, Serial numbers 5001 to 14,000, were used in the Waltham Model 1857 watch, the first pocket watch produced in America of standard parts. Parker' was introduced as the 1857 model. 399 units were made.
Including Serial Numbers and Production Dates
Cleveland, Ohio
1879 - 1969
Webb C. Ball was born in Fredericktown, Ohio on October 6, 1847 and became a jeweler and watchmaker. When Standard Time was first adopted in 1883, he was the first jeweler to use time signals, bringing accurate time to Cleveland, Ohio.
After the infamous collision between Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railways at Kipton, Ohio, which allegedly occurred because an engineer's watch had stopped unnoticed for about 5 minutes, the railroad officials commissioned Webb C. Ball as their General Time Inspector in order to establish precision standards and a reliable timepiece inspection system for Railroad Watches.
The Ball Watch Company did not manufacture watches directly, but the company helped develop the specifications for watches used in railroad service. Webb Ball established strict guidelines for the manufacturing of sturdy, reliable precision timepieces, including resistance to magnetism, reliability of time keeping in 5 positions, isochronism, power reserve, accompanied with record keeping of the reliability of the watch on each regular inspection.
Waltham Serial Number Lookup Pocket Watch
The Waltham Watch Company complied immediately with the requirements of Ball's guidelines, later followed by Elgin Watch Company and most of the other American manufacturers, later on joined by some Swiss Watch Manufacturers. The Ball Watch Company branded and distributed watches made by Hamilton, Waltham, Illinois, Elgin, E. Howard, and Hampden. Watches marked 'BALL & Co.' are much more difficult to find than those marked 'BALL WATCH Co.' Ball watches are today some of the most collectible of the American railroad pocket watches.
Today's criteria for the certification of each COSC Officially Certified Chronometer are still based in part upon Webb C. Ball's standards.
At the end of his career, Webb C. Ball was overseeing over 125,000 miles of rail tracks in U.S.A., Mexico & Canada, having greatly contributed to the security of all railroad systems.
The colloquial phrase 'on the ball' purportedly derives from Webb C. Ball's watch standards and their reputation for accuracy.
Waltham Serial Number Lookup Pocket Watch Battery
SPONSORED ADVERTISEMENTS
Ball Watch Company
Total Production: Approx. 200,000 Watches
| Year | S/N | Year | S/N | Year | S/N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ball - Hamilton (Exc 999B) | Ball - Waltham | Ball - Illinois | |||
| 1895 | 13,000 | 1900 | B 060,700 | 1929 | 800,000 |
| 1897 | 20,500 | 1905 | B 202,000 | 1930 | 801,000 |
| 1900 | 42,000 | 1910 | B 216,000 | 1931 | 803,000 |
| 1902 | 170,000 | 1915 | B 250,000 | 1932 | 804,000 |
| 1905 | 462,000 | 1920 | B 260,000 | - | - |
| 1910 | 600,000 | 1925 | B 270,000 | Ball - E. Howard | |
| 1915 | B 603,000 | - | - | 1893 | 226,000 |
| 1920 | B 610,000 | Ball - Elgin | 1895 | 308,000 | |
| 1925 | B 620,000 | 1904 | 11,853,000 | - | - |
| 1930 | B 637,000 | 1905 | 12,067,000 | - | - |
| 1935 | B 641,000 | 1906 | 12,282,000 | Ball - Hampden | |
| 1938 | B 647,000 | - | - | 1890 | 626,750 |
| 1939 | B 650,000 | - | - | 1891 | 657,960 |
| 1940 | B 651,000 | - | - | 1892 | 759,720 |
| 1941 | B 652,000 | - | - | - | - |
| 1942 | B 654,000 | - | - | - | - |
The table below is specific to the Ball-Hamilton grade 999B, which used its own sequence of serial numbers. Almost all of the Ball-Hamilton 999B watches used a circular damaskeening pattern, but a small number of watches were produced in late 1954 featuring a straight line damaskeening pattern.
Waltham Serial Number Lookup Pocket Watch Strap
| Ball - Hamilton 999B | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | S/N | Dmk Style |
| 1943 | 2B001 - 2B700 | Circular |
| 1944 | 1B701 - 1B800 | Circular |
| 1945 | 1B801 - 1B1400 | Circular |
| 1946 | 1B1401 - 1B4800 | Circular |
| 1947 | 1B1801 - 1B8500 | Circular |
| 1948 | 1B8501 - 1B13500 | Circular |
| 1949 | 1B8501 - 1B13500 | Circular |
| 1950 | 1B16201 - 1B18501 | Circular |
| 1951 | 1B18502 - 1B23000 | Circular |
| 1952 | 1B23001 - 1B25300 | Circular |
| 1954 | 1B25301 - 1B26899 | Circular |
| 1954 | 1B26900 - 1B27600 | Straight-line |
Be sure to use the serial number on the movement (the works) of the watch. Do not use the serial number from the watch case.
Can’t find your serial number in the table? Click here for an explanation and example of how to use our serial number tables.
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Need help finding the serial number on your watch? Click here for instructions on how to identify and open most common case types.
At Renaissance Watch Repair, we are experts in the repair and restoration of Ball watches, and they are one of our personal favorites to work on! We are also always looking for Ball Watches to purchase. Please contact us if you have any questions about the repair of your vintage Ball watch.
Instructions for using our serial number look-up tables
This page contains INSTRUCTIONS for using the serial number look-up tables that are found on many of our watch company history pages. The example below uses information from the American Waltham Watch Company, but that is just an example. You should consult the serial number table for the specific brand of watch movement you are trying to date by selecting a company from the menu on the left.
Not all vintage watches can be dated using the serial number. Some American watch brands did not use a consistent series of serial numbers, but most of the big manufacturers did. Most vintage Swiss pocket watches did NOT have serial numbers and can't be dated by this method.
Can't find YOUR exact serial number in our lookup tables?
Waltham Serial Number Lookup Pocket Watches
Many watch companies made hundreds of thousands of watches, and some companies made millions of watches! It would be impractical to list the individual serial numbers of EVERY watch made.. that would make some really long pages! Our serial number tables list RANGES of serial numbers. So to determine when your watch was manufactured, you will need to find where your serial number fits within the range of numbers.
Serial number look-up example:
Let's say you have a Waltham watch with serial number 21,607,210 as shown in the photo below. Note that we're using the serial number from the watch movement, not from the watch case. Looking at the table of Waltham serial numbers (see example below), you can see that number 20,900,000 was made in 1917 and 21,800,000 was made in 1918 (marked in red in the table below). Since your serial number falls between those two numbers, you know that your watch was made in 1917 or 1918.
Not sure which serial number to use?
Antique Waltham Watches Value
You must use the serial number from the MOVEMENT of the watch.. the working part with the wheels and gears.. not the serial number from the watch case. Cases and watches were often made by different companies and each usually has its own serial number. You usually have to take the back off the watch case to see the movement serial number which may appear anywhere on the watch movement.
Use the movement serial number. Do NOT use the case serial number!
This is an example only. Your movement serial number may not be in exactly the same location as the one in the photo, but you are looking for the serial number that is on the watch mechanism itself.. not the serial number on the external case.
| Year | S/N |
|---|---|
| 1852 | 50 |
| 1853 | 400 |
| 1854 | 1000 |
| 1855 | 2500 |
| 1856 | 4000 |
| 1857 | 6000 |
| 1858 | 10,000 |
| 1859 | 15,000 |
| 1860 | 20,000 |
| 1861 | 30,000 |
| 1862 | 45,000 |
| 1863 | 65,000 |
| 1864 | 110,000 |
| 1865 | 180,000 |
| 1866 | 260,000 |
| 1867 | 330,000 |
| 1868 | 410,000 |
| 1869 | 460,000 |
| 1870 | 500,000 |
| 1871 | 540,000 |
| 1872 | 590,000 |
| 1873 | 680,000 |
| 1874 | 730,000 |
| 1875 | 810,000 |
| 1876 | 910,000 |
| 1877 | 1,000,000 |
| 1878 | 1,150,000 |
| 1879 | 1,350,000 |
| 1880 | 1,500,000 |
| 1881 | 1,670,000 |
| 1882 | 1,835,000 |
| 1883 | 2,000,000 |
| 1884 | 2,350,000 |
| 1885 | 2,650,000 |
| 1886 | 3,000,000 |
| 1887 | 3,400,000 |
| Year | S/N |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 3,800,000 |
| 1889 | 4,200,000 |
| 1890 | 4,700,000 |
| 1891 | 5,200,000 |
| 1892 | 5,800,000 |
| 1893 | 6,300,000 |
| 1894 | 6,700,000 |
| 1895 | 7,100,000 |
| 1896 | 7,450,000 |
| 1897 | 8,100,000 |
| 1898 | 8,400,000 |
| 1899 | 9,000,000 |
| 1900 | 9,500,000 |
| 1901 | 10,200,000 |
| 1902 | 11,100,000 |
| 1903 | 12,100,000 |
| 1904 | 13,500,000 |
| 1905 | 14,300,000 |
| 1906 | 14,700,000 |
| 1907 | 15,500,000 |
| 1908 | 16,400,000 |
| 1909 | 17,600,000 |
| 1910 | 17,900,000 |
| 1911 | 18,100,000 |
| 1912 | 18,200,000 |
| 1913 | 18,900,000 |
| 1914 | 19,500,000 |
| 1915 | 20,000,000 |
| 1916 | 20,500,000 |
| 1917 | 20,900,000 |
| 1918 | 21,800,000 |
| 1919 | 22,500,000 |
| 1920 | 23,400,000 |
| 1921 | 23,900,000 |
| 1922 | 24,100,000 |
| 1923 | 24,300,000 |
Waltham Serial Number Lookup Pocket Watch
| Year | S/N |
|---|---|
| 1924 | 24,550,000 |
| 1925 | 24,800,000 |
| 1926 | 25,200,000 |
| 1927 | 26,100,000 |
| 1928 | 26,400,000 |
| 1929 | 26,900,000 |
| 1930 | 27,100,000 |
| 1931 | 27,300,000 |
| 1932 | 27,550,000 |
| 1933 | 27,750,000 |
| 1934 | 28,100,000 |
| 1935 | 28,600,000 |
| 1936 | 29,100,000 |
| 1937 | 29,400,000 |
| 1938 | 29,750,000 |
| 1939 | 30,050,000 |
| 1940 | 30,250,000 |
| 1941 | 30,750,000 |
| 1942 | 31,050,000 |
| 1943 | 31,400,000 |
| 1944 | 31,700,000 |
| 1945 | 32,100,000 |
| 1946 | 32,350,000 |
| 1947 | 32,750,000 |
| 1948 | 33,100,000 |
| 1949 | 33,500,000 |
| 1950 | 33,560,000 |
| 1951 | 33,600,000 |
| 1952 | 33,700,000 |
| 1953 | 33,800,000 |
| 1954 | 34,100,000 |
| 1955 | 34,450,000 |
| 1956 | 34,700,000 |
| 1957 | 35,000,000 |
| - | - |
| - | - |
American Waltham Pocket Watch Value
This is an example Iphoto 09 download. using the Waltham serial number table. Be sure to use the table that is specific
to YOUR brand of watch when looking up your serial number.
Be sure to use the serial number on the watch movement (the mechanism).
Do not use the serial number from the watch case.