Dennison observed that the watch industry in England was not highly mechanized and believed the new American firm by he and his partners could make an impact in the watch industry. Initial funding of $20,000 was raised and the American Horological Company was born.ĭennison, paid $1,200 a year to head the project, was sent to Great Britain by his partners to learn trade secrets and purchase supplies for the American effort. Davis, experienced in manufacturing, and financial angel Samuel Curtis. Joining Dennison and Howard in establishment of the company were fellow Bostonians David P. Howard initially wanted Dennison to build locomotives but instead went into business with Dennison making watches. In 1849, Dennison was approached by Edward Howard, a clock and scale maker from Boston.
WALTHAM WATCH SERIAL NUMBER LOOKUP POCKET FULL
He found this enterprise distracted him from his dream of industrial production of watches and turned the company over to brother Eliphalet Dennison in 1849 so that he could turn his full attention to horology. In 1844 Dennison started the firm that would later emerge as the Dennison Manufacturing Company, a paper box business. This would not be his first venture, however. Mass production of clocks had come on line during the first quarter of the 19th century in the United States, moving from a handicraft to a factory basis the forward-thinking Dennison hoped to apply the same principles and techniques to the making of pocket watches. In 1833 he became a journeyman watchmaker with the firm of Currier & Trott in Boston, leaving in 1839 to go into business for himself. He served as an apprentice to a jeweler for three years as a youth and had come to Boston in 1833.
![waltham watch serial number lookup pocket waltham watch serial number lookup pocket](https://pocketwatchdatabase.com/assets/dropbox/watch/large/6c24707b40199012c2abf863a0c9b179.jpg)
![waltham watch serial number lookup pocket waltham watch serial number lookup pocket](https://dygtyjqp7pi0m.cloudfront.net/i/36463/33028144_1.jpg)
Dennison was the son of a shoemaker, born in Maine in 1812. The idea for the Waltham Watch Company came from watchmaker Aaron Lufkin Dennison. Prior to 1850, watches in America were generally supplied either from England or Switzerland. If you need more info please ask.Picture of the Ellery Model 1857, produced when Waltham was still named Boston Watch Company. Perhaps one of you experts can extrapolate that into something meaningful. I am not sure if that proves anything but the 14K cased watch weighs 57.8 grams and the other case 55.2 grams. I decided that since both are similar movements and the same size I would weigh them. I have had two different jewlers look at the case and neither can determine exactly what it is made from without an acid test, which I will not let them do. It too has a Waltham movement, serial 3439715. One of them is the one with just Waltham on the case with a serial and no other markings. Recently my wife's mom passed and we inherited the watches that she had. When I was 12 my mother passed the watch to me so I have had it for 50 years. My mother asked her grandmother if she could have it because it was so pretty. He offered to buy the watch as it was not working. She raised my mother and one day a scrap gold dealer came to the door. My Waltham 14K case with with a Waltham movement serial 4154394 belonged to my great grandmother. I have poked around the site and all I can say is wow, what a goldmine of information. I would not be here except for finding this site based on this thread. If the case doesn't contain the words "Warranted US Assay 14K (or 18K)" I assume it's not gold until an expert tells me otherwise, or until I've had it tested.
![waltham watch serial number lookup pocket waltham watch serial number lookup pocket](https://pocketwatchdatabase.com/assets/dropbox/watch/large/8d6a02430c5dd5d1e0d54bd1ab0ed19a.jpg)
There is another book referred to as "Ehrhardt's Trade Marks" which I believe is rather better, but I have been looking for a copy for two years without success. I have a book called "History of the American Watch Case" by Warren Niebling which contains some trademarks, but the book is far from a complete reference (it doesn't even mention Waltham Watch Case Co !!!) and it says nothing about karatage marks, and it's pretty difficult to use for reference. My practice has been to check specific marks here, and then slowly to learn which marks mean what! So presumably that applies to yours tooĪmerican "hallmarks" are problematic because there was no legally enforced marking system. My second photo shows the "Waltham" mark only, and I have been assured by knowledgeable people here that this is a 10K solid gold case.
![waltham watch serial number lookup pocket waltham watch serial number lookup pocket](https://pocketwatchdatabase.s3.amazonaws.com/research/waltham/graybook/Waltham-GrayBook-57.jpeg)
If there is an accompanying mark (as shown on my first photo below) this would show that the case is 14K solid gold. The trademark in your photo is one of the correct marks for the Waltham Watch Case Co.