New member, first post. I got my first pocket watch as a suprise gift for Christmas. It's a family heirloom, but I didn't know about it.

I did a little research on it yesterday. It appears to be an unmarked series 5 Keystone Howard from 1912 (according to the serial number).

On the inside of the back cover there are numbers/letters etched by hand in several locations, in very small print. I counted 12 different sequences, most on the right side, the rest below the serial number. On the end of several of them, is a symbol that looks like a capital 'T' combined with a capital "H". What are these?

Tim,

Welcome to IHC185,

Those are marks that a jeweler or watchmaker scratched on the case back to let themselves know when the watch was last serviced. There is no common method of doing the marks so they often don't make sense. The initials may have been those of the jeweler or service person.

The watchmaker in town serviced one of my watches and marked the case back and I can't make any sense of the markings.

Maybe one of the watchmakers will explain their system of service marking,

RR

Hello Tim and Welcome to IHC185....you have made a wise choice in joining with us....

If you can, please give us the serial number of your watch and if at all possible post a few pictures....esp. of the movement and dial...case pics are nice also....

As Richard has explained, the marks on the inside of the case rear cover are indeed jewelers marks and when we see a watch that has many of these marks it can mean a couple of things....

1. The watch has had trouble and I doubt very much this is the case with your watch....

2. The watch was used in some job situation that required a certain accuracy and was often checked or timed and/or cleaned and adjusted such as Railroad use....

Do you know whether or not anyone in your family was involved with Railroad work of some sort...?

We would like to see your watch if you could post some photo's....

Again, Welcome to our club...!

Regards,

Jerry

Thank you!

I will work on the pictures. The serial number of the movement is 1104921. The serial number of the case is 1539314. It has a montgomery dial. It's in a Keystone Extra case. It has a gold chain and has been kept in a glass display dome.

Yes, it belonged to a railroad man. A great uncle.

The various etchings are:

78914
96344
110214
110734
5711H
6-386B
5-34-11
7-125H
9-92H
0-194H
1-84H
8305

I just looked again and found 3 more etchings along the side:

H 18005
7L-V
TL-4

Thanks again. I'll get pics posted soon.

Hi Tim, and welcome. That is a great looking watch.
I have also wondered about jeweler's marks and their meaning-perhaps they're dates when service was done. Maybe someone here can explain them.

Gary

Welcome aboard Tim. Nice watch, just offhand, it appears to be a 16-size 19-jewel Series 5.

Two Things about it I really like are the bridge-type movement and the jeweled barrel.

Thanks for the photos Tim, they and the watch are really, very nice....Certainly an heirloom to be treasured and I'm sure it will be....

I am no Howard expert but I would say that watch was indeed a Railroad watch and all the jewelers marks indicate that the watch was tested periodically for accuracy and other reasons as well....

Do you happen to know which Railroad your Great Uncle worked for...?

Regards,

Jerry

Hi Tim,
I agree, classy watch AND it looks like a worthy, gold-filled chain, as well. You have a size 16 E. Howard Watch made by the E. Howard Watch Co., of Boston.
Yours is a Series 5 model with 19 jewels, and a jeweled barrel. Is your movement actually marked "No. 5"? I couldn't tell.
Also it has a desirable Montgomery dial favored by many railroaders and collectors, and doubly desirable if it has no hairlines or other noticeable imperfections. If you plan to carry it regularly, good advice would be to have it cleaned and oiled by a reputable jeweler - unless, of course, that has been done recently. Your watch is right at 100 years old.
Don't be a stranger here
Mike

PS I just read where Ed Parsons has already given you much of this information, but that's OK. I'll just echo his remarks.

It does not say "No. 5" on it, which is what I meant by "unmarked series 5".

I'll ask about which railrooad, I'm not sure.

Hi Tim! Nice to have another Washingtonian here. Beautiful watch! You're so lucky! Welcome to IHC 185. You will learn a lot of stuff here. I joined a couple of weeks ago, and was amazed at the amount of useful information I've discovered! Regards, Brad

Hi Tim,

Welcome to the club, The jewelers marks are often there log entry, I sometimes add this hidden so if I ever see the watch again I can refer back to my log and the work previously carried out and when. I like those Howards myself very well made watches.

Welcome Tim!!

Very nice watch! Wish I had one like it...maybe someday.

Welcome again from "Sunny Sequim" Washington.

IHC 185 the best place to be!!
Steve

Chris,

Thank you for explaining the jewelers marks. Now it makes sense.

Tim,

Beautiful watch that you’ll always be proud of. The dial and gold jewel settings are what stand out to me. Along with the case it’s a great example of a true RR watch.

Enjoy,
RR

Very nice! And with all those service marks, it appears that someone took very good care of it, probably due to using it on the job.