Hello everyone, I just got this watch today and wondered if anyone could shed some light on the company history for me.

Was it just Dueber in the beginning, or was it Dueber/Hampden? I can't seem to find any information on just Hampden for some reason and it appears that it was Dueber/Hampden right from the start. Is this true, does anyone know?




I did find some sites that deal with Dueber all by itself but not Hampden all by itself. Maybe I'm looking in all the wrong places?

Also, I rather like the movement because it seems a bit different than onters. For eample, the regulator. This I haven't seen before. Is there a specific name for this regulator?

I heard that these watches were highly collectible. Is there any truth to this also?

Thanks for any assistance guys. As usual, I'd appreciate hearing what you know.

Regards

Bud

Bud, you have a nice Duber-Hampden 17 jewel, Duber Grand, adjusted Hunter movement recased into an open face case....

The watch is listed on page 241 of the price guide....

On page 240 there is a time line listing of the Hampden Company and the individuals associated with the company....

John Duber began by making cases and later bought the Hampden Watch Co. of Springfield, Mass. and moved the company to Canton, Ohio....

The full chronology of the company is listed at the bottom of page 240 of the price guide....up to when the company was sold to Amtorg, a Russian Company....

There is also a picture of the Regulator shown on page 241 and I do not know the name of it but would assume it would be 'the Hampden' regulator....

The dial on yours is very nice and could be rare, I'm not sure but it is a nice dial and whether it would be an original or not I don't know....Maybe someone else can speak to that....

Regards,

Jerry

Thanks a lot Jerry, and if somecould shed some light on whether this is an original dial or not I'd appreciate it.

The movement on this is quite interesting in that it has a lot of differences from what I've seen so far. Especially the regulator.

Thanks again Jerry

Bud

Nice watch, Bud....In my humble opinion, that dial looks earlier than the movement.And as Jerry said, the regulator is the right one for the watch, that rack & pinion style star wheel regulator is the most common Hampden regulator, used on 12-16-18 sizes.They also used Teske and Tucker regulators on some of the earlier 18S.They have a long arm going over the balance wheel to a fancy index with a screw adjuster, which mounts on the main plate.Some were gold.The ones like yours are nice because you can turn the star wheel with a toothpick or something like that, instead of having to use a jeweler's screwdriver.They are called micrometric regulators, and give finer adjustment than the so-called "simple" regulators.Hampden is a great company to collect,they made a huge number of different grades and many Railroad watches.They're just as good as the more famous names like Hamilton, Illinois, etc., just not as popular for some reason.But, that may finally be changing! Thanks for showing it, Ted.

Bud, IHC185 has a special offer for two books that I suggest you consider for background on Watch Making companies. These will answer many of your questions. You can see the offer at;

https://ihc185.infopop.cc/eve/f...1042382/m/9911065382

Hampden used that "star" type regulator on most of their higher end watches. I have the same regulator on my 1903 16s Wm. McKinley.

Hello David;

Would you believe it? I actually bought both of these books when I joined this forum and forgot I even had them.

Thanks for the reminder David, that was perfect timing.

Bud

quote:

Bud, IHC185 has a special offer for two books that I suggest you consider for background on Watch Making companies. These will answer many of your questions. You can see the offer at;

Bud, I love Hampdens and your dial is usually found, in my experience on the model 2 18s Hampdens. I would say that the dial, while not exceedingly rare is scarce, attractive and desirable. Interestingly enough, the regulator as Ted Brown says is actually easier to use than many and I believe was totally a Hampden development. Very nice watch.

Hello Richard and thank you so much for the nice comments.

I would have to agree that is is a most elegant watch even though it's a large one. It's also been running very well since I got it a few days ago and it's keeping excellent time. According to my computers' clock, the watch is keeping time with it within less than a minute from day to day. Not a very scientific check of course but for me, that's plenty accurate.

Thanks again Richard.

Bud

quote:

Bud, I love Hampdens and your dial is usually found, in my experience on the model 2 18s Hampdens. I would say that the dial, while not exceedingly rare is scarce, attractive and desirable. Interestingly enough, the regulator as Ted Brown says is actually easier to use than many and I believe was totally a Hampden development. Very nice watch.

Deacon