June 18, 2008, 20:04
Tom BrownDennison Watch Case
Here is another of my cheap ebay finds, I paid $7.00 including shipping & I was amazed to find the watch took of running after only a couple of turns. I bought this watch mostly for the case, it is marked with the British sterling marks & ALD for the maker & the dust cover is marked Dennison Watch Case Co.
After looking on the web I saw where Aaron Lufkin Dennison of E. Howard etc. started a watch case company in England later in his life, and this case appears to be from his company.
The watch is a 17 jewel Swiss movement & as you can see the dial is damaged & it is missing the minute hand & I stuck the second hand on just to watch it run.
I was wondering are cases by Dennison worth anymore due to his name than other similar cases? When I saw it on ebay for the price I thought I couldn't go wrong for a sterling silver case for the price.
The movement is about 42mm(a little smaller than a 16s).
Interested to hear any comments.
Thanks
Tom
June 18, 2008, 21:25
David AbbeI think the Dennison cases are collectible in their own right given the history of Mr. Dennison's well chronicled adventures. As many of them were used on Waltham export models, the one you have could be messed with, but I would fix up the movement it has and keep it original.
June 18, 2008, 21:30
Bill Kappthey are interesting but not substantialy more valuable. The company lasted a long time and the cases are not uncommon.
In general, the watch case business was more profitable than the watch movement business. the cases generally were more expensive than the movements also.
Happy hunting,
June 18, 2008, 22:26
Tom BrownThanks for the replies Guys. I thought I would clean it up & just hang onto it, I figured it wasn't a great prize but for the price I couldn't pass it up.
Tom
June 19, 2008, 11:54
Edward A. HustonHere is a question that I have been curious about for a while. The little village of Dennison, OH is named after William Dennison, a former governor of Ohio in the early 1860's. Anyone know of a relation between the watch case maker and the governor?
June 23, 2008, 03:36
Sheila GilbertTom,
I think you have a great find there!
Congratulations!
I would also love to see the movement.
Who else could find a Sterling case for $7.00 WOW!
June 24, 2008, 11:17
Brian C.Edward,
I don't think Aaron Dennison woud be related to the governor. He was born in Maine and came from a poor family.
Brian C.
June 24, 2008, 20:29
David AbbeBest Known for Dennison Label Co., which must have kept many generations of Dennisons happy.
June 25, 2008, 08:36
Tom BrownSheila
This is the movement, I haven't cleaned it yet. Nothing fancy, marked Swiss made 17 jewels.
Tom
June 25, 2008, 08:48
Brian C.Yes David,
It's a good story why Aaron started that company up. I worked there for a couple of weeks when Waltham Precision Instrument Co. shut down for two weeks vacation, in the 60s. It was a big old factory.
Brian C.
June 25, 2008, 12:30
David AbbeActually Tom, That is a pretty nice looking movement.