Hello: I have had a Dueber Hampden pocket watch for some time now, and am curious if information on it can be traced, or at least aged/time wise. It is a Dueber Special, and the number listed on it (below that, on the back side, is 5174270. My family always said it was one of my Great-Uncles, but never more than that. 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).

• Dueber Pocket Watch Case Serial Number Database
• Pocket Watch Storage Case
• Dueber Pocket Watch Case Number

The Hampden Watch Co. Manufactured watches in Springfield, Massachesetts and Canton, Ohio from approximately 1877 to 1927. See more information about Hampden Watch Co. Or find out more information about your watch by conducting a serial number lookup. Here is a 1938 Elgin size 12, 15 jewel pocket watch in a very nice 25 year gold filled case. The watch does not run and will need repair before use.

Waltham pocket watches have been around for more than 150 years and are a collector's item. They were made between 1851 and 1957 in Waltham, Massachusetts. Like any other collector's items, the oldest and rarest pieces are the most valuable, so it is important to know as much information as you can about a watch before buying or selling it. It is fairly simple to confirm a watch is a Waltham pocket watch and to identify the model and manufacturing date.

Identify the type of pocket watch. There are three basic types. A hunting case pocket watch has a closed case that goes over the face of the watch. An open face pocket watch has no cover over the face and it winds at the 12 o'clock position. A sidewinder pocket watch has no cover over the face and it winds at 3 o'clock.

Open the back cover of the watch with your fingernail and look for identifying names -- a magnifying glass or loupe may be necessary. A Waltham pocket watch will have 'A.W.W.Co.' and 'Waltham, Mass.' on the movement, which is the inner workings of the pocket watch. This will also include the grade of the watch. For instance, a Riverside grade watch will have 'A.W.W.Co. Riverside Waltham, Mass.' on the movement.

Write down the serial number. This is also on the movement and can be used to date the watch.

Look up production dates online, on sites like Oldwatch.com. Corresponding years and serial numbers will be listed. If the serial number is between two dates, it was made in the earlier date.

If your watch has a cover, look on the inside. 'AWco' written on the inside of the cover means the cover was also made by Waltham. A 'K' with a number means the case is made of gold, and the number indicates how many carats it is. For instance, 'K18' means the case is made out of 18-carat gold.

Tip

Dueber Pocket Watch Case Serial Numbers

If 'adjusted' is on the movement on the back of the watch, that means the watch has been adjusted to keep time in various conditions, which adds value to the watch.

Warning

If your watch case is difficult to open with your fingernail, do not force it open or pry it open with a knife, you could easily damage the case or the crystal. Take it to a jeweler.

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Identifying a vintage pocket watch, with few exceptions, is easy and requires few or no tools. Vintage pocket watches from the late 19th century through the 1950s are well marked with the watchmaker’s logo embossed on the dial and engraved on the movement. Often the watchmaker’s name will also be engraved on the inside of the case back. However, some Swiss watchmakers imported unassembled watches with no markings to the U.S. to be assembled and sold by independent sellers or department stores. These watches are difficult, if not impossible, to identify.

Examine the top portion of the dial of the vintage pocket watch. Most vintage pocket watches have the manufacturer’s logo embossed on the dial. Watchmakers Hamilton, Elgin, Waltham, Illinois, International Watch Co. and most others have distinctive logos or trademarks.

Examine the dial below the hands post with the loupe. It may have “17 Jewels” or a different number of jewels embossed. A good quality vintage pocket watch will have a minimum of 15 jewels. Jewels are lubricated friction points where the spring-loaded mechanism and its gears, called a movement, move to operate the watch.

Insert the case blade under the lip of a snap-back vintage pocket watch and pry it open. Use the palm of your hand or a watchmaker’s sticky ball to rotate a screw-down case back counterclockwise to remove it from the case, according to Thewatchguy.homestead.com.

Use the loupe to examine the movement. The watchmaker’s name should appear on the bridge, a flat sheet of metal over the movement. Below or near the name is a serial number usually five to nine digits long. Record the number. A smaller number, ranging from two to four digits, may also be engraved. The serial number will help identify the year of manufacture. The smaller number is the caliber, or size, of the movement.

Examine the inside of the case back. It should identify the type of metal used for the case and case back, such as “18k” for gold or “999” for silver. The watchmaker’s name or the name of an independent case maker, may be engraved.

Compare the manufacturer’s name, serial number and movement caliber with published lists from the manufacturer. For example, a Waltham pocket watch with serial numbers between 29,100,000 and 29,399,000 was manufactured in 1936. The caliber of movement could be used over several years or even decades. Many watch repairpersons keep pocket watch data to order parts. Lists from many pocket watch manufacturers, even those no longer existing, are published online.

Tip

Not all pocket watch manufacturers are consistent in developing a coherent serial numbering system or keeping records. Gruen, for example, destroyed many of its records in 1957-58. It’s virtually impossible to identify the year of manufacture on a Gruen pocket watch.

Dueber Pocket Watch Case Serial Number Database

Warning

Do not force a case back open if it’s stubborn. You may damage it. Have a professional watch repairperson perform the task.

Pocket Watch Storage Case

The Dueber Watch Case Company was an important employer in Canton, Ohio during the late 1800s and the early 1900s.

In 1864, John Dueber founded the Dueber Watch Case Company in Newport, Kentucky. This firm manufactured cases that held the internal workings of watches. The Dueber Watch Case Company provided the casings to watch manufacturers, including the Hampden Watch Company, which was located in Springfield, Massachusetts. The Hampden Watch Company's product so impressed Dueber that in 1886 he purchased a controlling interest in this company. In 1888 Dueber relocated the Dueber Watch Case Company from Newport and the Hampden Watch Company from Springfield to Canton, Ohio. In this new location, the two companies shared manufacturing facilities. The Dueber Watch Case Company produced the cases for the watches that the Hampden Watch Company manufactured. In 1923, the two companies formally united together, becoming known as the Dueber-Hampden Watch Company.

Dueber Pocket Watch Case Number

The Dueber Watch Case Company and the Hampden Watch Company quickly became two of Canton's largest employers. In 1888, the companies' first year in Canton, the firms employed 2,300 Canton residents. In 1890, Canton's population was 26,337 people. Thanks to these two companies, Canton became an important center for watch manufacturing in the United States of America. Unfortunately for Canton residents, in 1927 the company went bankrupt, finally ceasing operations in the city in 1930. The machinery and tools were sold to the Amtorg Trading Corporation, one of Soviet Russia’s buying agencies in the US, for $329.000. 23 former Dueber-Hampden watchmakers, engravers and various other technicians were hired, for one year, to help train the Russian workers in the art of watch making at The First State Watch Factory, Moscow.

See Also

References

1. Howe, Henry. Historical Collections of Ohio. Columbus, OH: Henry Howe & Son, 1891.
2. Garratt, Alan. Beyond Springfield and Moscow: The remarkable story of Hampden watches. 2014. Web. 2 October 2014. <www.hampdenwatches.com>.
3. Gibbs, James W. The Dueber-Hampden Story. Exeter, NH : Adams Brown, 1954.
4. 'The Watch Trade War.' The New York Times. 10 April 1895.