Hi,
Most of my Waltham Vanguard winding indicator collection are mid-to-late 1920’s vintage and are in the original/correct Waltham-marked cases.
These two are earlier, pre-Lossier, both ca1913. I’m wondering when these J.Boss case styles were introduced, and if they could be original to the watches or not?
I’ve not been able to find any advertisements to indicate when these came on the stage… I have an identical case to the YGF one on the left which has an original 1918 movement. So probably close considering high-priced movements often sat around for a while before being cased at jewelers...
Thanks!
Barry
PS: I can’t find anyway to add a 2nd photo, showing the inside back covers, but the YGF case is simply “J.Boss”, while the WGF case also adds “25 years”. I have an almost identical case to the YGF, which adds underneath the J.Boss stamp “10k Goldfilled”.

Barry,

Click on reply to post and then you can add additional pictures

View of the inside back covers of the two shown above.

Does anyone have either of these cases with an original movement? Could you provide the date your movement was made? Hopefully someone else has 'confirmed original' examples from the mid-teens... I know the WGF (w/ "25 years") is for sure pre-1924(?), as the casemakers were no longer allowed to stamp "x years" wear guarentees...

For what it is worth and you likely already checked but Pocket Watch Data Base has case company records. In that website J Boss was an 1860 to 1864 company. I see Keystone on the cases and Keystone bought up a number of producers including J Boss.

Keystone shows as a producer 1880 to 1956 so chances are good it was a Keystone original case. Now those case stamps are catalogued as well and a similar 'warranty' stamp shows as first appearing in a Benj. Allen & Co. Illustrated Catalog (1903).

That was just a quick glance but under Keystone there were numerous case stamps and following the stamps leads to references such as actual catalogues. Some are digitalized and some are not in the PWDB but that doesn't mean other public archives may not have them digitalized such as libraries.

I'd try and search further but I am doing the exact same thing searching for CRTS and CPR hallmarks to date and identify real CPRs acquired by the company and not a Jeweller who pulled one from a Mixed Run and sold it to a client not associated with the CPR.