I have seen these around, both in the below style with red painted triangle markers on the dial and ones that are plain white. The red triangle markings ones seem to have a stamped in marking on the back of most of them which is KS-6422 which might be either the model of the watch or perhaps just the model of the case. Of the ones I have been able to see the movement on, the movements are 37 size and the serial numbers seem to be around the 1920s. I am not sure exactly what they were made for. They have the minutes marked like railroad watches but they do not look like any railroad watch I have ever seen. They sometimes come mounted on a square shaped mounting which makes me think they might have been attached to something like an instrument. Some guesses I have heard are they were were mounted to old telephones to track your time since you paid by the minute, or they were made for attaching to dashboards in old cars.

Does anyone know for sure just what this style of Waltham was used for?

I had one of those 8 days movements with that same dial that I restored and sold to a friend who put it in the middle of the dashboard of his frame up restored 1946 Ford Pickup painted Banana Yellow with red trim. He loves it.

MADE FOR THE DASH OF A BOAT, TIPPED UPWARD FOR BETTER VISIBILITY,MOST WERE KEY LOCKED. THE BRACKET WAS SCREWED TO THE DASH OF THE BOAT, AND THE CLOCK WAS REMOVABLE SO YOU COULD TAKE IT HOME WITH YOU RATHER THAN HAVE IT STOLEN IN YOUR ABSENCE. MOST I'VE SEEN AND HAD WERE SILVER PLATED BRASS,VERY CUTE LITTLE RASCALS THEY WERE!!! SORRY FOR THE CAPS I TYPE STARING AT THE KEYBOARD,TOM

Thanks, Tom. Was there a particular boating reason for the minutes to be marked and the triangle markings around the dial?

That style dial has been reported as a telephone operator's clock. Sorry, can't remember where I saw it

the ones I had and saw as I said seemed upscale,silver plated not nickel with silvered brass dials ,so I can see them in that configuration for nifty wooden boats, and in the other configuration screwed to a telephone operators switchboard. Or even perhaps a miltary usage

this is a fantastic telephone co. I.D.'d clock completed item on ebay but I can't copy over the great dial picture. # 260552094296

this was the type I had a few of with the wind-indicator and silver plate over the brass eBay # 250593961931,again sorry i don't seem able to transfer the picture over

Here is 260552094296

And 250593961931

Is there anything that you can't do my new friend ,LOL ??? Thank you Tom,much appreciated !!!

Make money, I think that is it.

Tom

Here is a photo of the one I saw that did not have red triangles marking the minutes but seems to be another version of the one with the red triangle markings:

The telephone timer makes sense to me, especially in terms of needing a watch attached to one of those old phones with the large wooden case and ear piece on a wire, or maybe to an old time operator's station where the operator was plugging in all of those wires to make call connections. The image that Tom Brown shows with a telephone company marking on the dial really reinforces that these were made for telephone use to time the number of minutes your call was since you would pay by the minute. Has anyone seen these in an old Waltham catalog or maybe in an advertisement or even in an old patent drawing?

This isn't the phone timer but it is an ad from 1912

Man, one of these would sure be handy on the dash of my '50 Plymouth!

Regards! Mark

there's been quite a few on eBay as indicated by the two eBay sales I listed above. The beauty New England Telephone and Telegraph company signed dial one went for $76, the silver plated indicator model which I believe was used in cars and boats went for $137.50

I add this picture of the clock I gave my friend and "office neighbor" for his Ford P/U restoration.

The 1/10 minute graduations are an interesting tell tale of what its intended use could have been.

That looks good in that color of pickup truck, but it does not seem to be original to the truck since it would be difficult to wind and set.

The advertisement that Tom Brown kindly shared is really interesting and shows that kind of Waltham was definitely made for automobile use (after market?). However, that kind of dial is quite unlike the two that I am asking about - the ones with the minutes marked. The photo of the telephone markings on that one that sold recently are saying this particular design of dial with the minutes marked were designed by Waltham for telephone usage, but I am still hoping for a catalog or advertisement or patent that confirm that is what Waltham designed them for.

Jim

I have been searching for a add or image with the telephone dial but so far no luck.

Tom

The really neat thing about that truck mounted 8 day is the nifty Bayonet mount with a spring loaded detent lock. When you want to wind and set it, push + 1/8 turn left and "click" it is in your hand!

Hi all
Since studying the different dials on the posted watches, I wonder why there is a seconds bit on some and what appears to be a winding indicator on some? In the add that Tom posted they say that there is a winding indicator, but there I also see a seconds register. Furthermore, what is that thing between 9 and 10? Is that the W/I?
Regards Krister

Some models of the Waltham 8 day clock had a wind indicator that instead of a dial there was an indicator in the form of a disc that changed color, that is what is the ad I posted. Waltham appeared to make their 8-day clock/watch with many different dial lay outs.

This image is one with the indicator disc on the right.

Tom

This is one with the dial indicator

Then they made them with no indicator at all

Tom
Thanks, that´s exactly what I wanted to know. When reading the ad I figured that the bit with numbers from 0 to 9 would be a w/i since it mentioned that it could run ten days on a full wind. Just couldn´t figure out the other thing (disc). Now I know.
Regards Krister