June 02, 2017, 15:35
Lindell V. RiddleHere are the facts...
"WE DO NOT SELL MOVEMENTS OR CASES SEPARATELY"
This has gone way off-topic but the information shown below from Webb C. Ball, Ball Watch Company, Ball Building, Cleveland, Ohio[b] can be found dating at least as far back as 1901 and 1902 in a Ball-issued Railroad Time Book and they used the title "[b]COMPLETE WATCHES ONLY" referring to this being their stated practice and in fact it was published a few years before Ball-Elgin Railroad Grade Watches (the original subject of this topic which is from 1905) were finished and sold as complete watches only.
Ball advertising and materials proclaimed this fact for some 50 years (1890s-1940s) that I have documented.
We also know for a fact that The Ball Watch Company and The Webb C. Ball Company retail jewelry store cased and timed all their Railroad Grade products in the Ball Building on Superior Road for many years dating back to the 1890s and there is no question that was indeed their practice. One prime example is my Ball-Howard number 307473 cased and timed in a Jeannot & Schiebler 14K Solid Gold Case clearly marked "Webb C. Ball Cleveland, Ohio" and we have evidence showing the movement arrived on May of 1894 at the Ball facility in Cleveland, Ohio and then adjusted, cased and timed shortly thereafter.
In the statement below, Webb C. Ball was re-stating their long-standing policy, their rule of selling "complete watches only" be followed by "Brotherhood men" and that this rule should not be violated by any of their authorized agents which refers to Ball Time Inspectors and others who were authorized to sell Ball Watches. (I have copies of this wording including 1901, 1902 and 1912.)
Please read this very carefully, it is but one of many times these facts were stated.
You will notice this is signed by Webb C. Ball himself...