Hi Folks,
I have a couple of early 1900's wristwatches and would appreciate any comments, good or not so good on them.

The Hampden is something of a curiousity, as it has the crown and the '3' position next to a strap lug!
The script on the movement (stem wind/set) states 'Molly Stark' inside a 'ribbon' with 'Canton,O. U.S.A.' Below.
The serial number is 2514143.

The case is stamped inside 'Gold Filled' over a rectangle enclosing the word 'DUECO' and a serial number 10416268.
Overall, it's not in bad condition, fairly unworn case with a good strap, but an untidy crystal replacement and sluggish movement plus a 'rub' on the enamel next to the sub second dial.

I've no idea of its age as I've not checked any references yet, are these watches fairly 'run of the mill' in the USA, and do they have any value as such?
Best regards
John Woolsey

Movement and case back for the Hampden.

This is the Waltham wristwatch.
The case is Dennison made solid 9Ct Gold with a hinged back, and bears the hallmarks for Birmingham UK 1924. The lugs are also hallmarked 9Ct Gold and the pipe appears to be Gold also, seems oddly too long for the case though!

The movement is engraved AWW.CoWaltham Mass. U.S.A. Serial No 23504245.

The movement runs reluctantly and sluggishly, but a good clean should sort that out, the case is in very good condition too, no sprained hinges etc.
The enamel dial unfortunately has hairlines from the '12' through to the '6' and also '12' to '8' and the crystal is well yellowed, which is at least an easy fix.

As with the Hampden, are there any merits/ de-merits with this watch? Any value (apart from the Gold)?

All and any comments appreciated.

Best regards
John Woolsey

Waltham Movement.

John,

Both of these look like early conversions. Neither of the movements are particularly valuable. I would suggest the watches as presented are collectible in their present condition as nice examples of early PW-to-WW conversions. The "Molly Stark" was originally a hunter movement with HC, nice little ladies watch. The Waltham was originally an OF movement and appears to be converted with a new dial and removing the seconds post. I'm no expert with these smaller movements so hopefully someone else will chime in to confirm or deny my little observations.

Best,

Frank "407" Kusumoto

Many thanks for the feedback on the watches, really appreciated.

Conversions from Fobs was my impression too when I bought them, but they are very good and look like 'factory' jobs.
The wire lugs on the Waltham also have matching hallmarks, and looking at the way they're worn and the way they're fitted, I'm pretty sure they're original and weren't an aftermarket modding job by a jeweller.
It is a Dennison case and has all the correct marks, also a rectangular stamp with A.L.D. which I believe is the Dennison casemakers mark.
The crown looks like an incorrect later replacement though.

I'm always very wary of conversions generally, as we see so many fakes turning up here, paricularly silver wire lug types being turned into 'rare WW1 military' watches! Nickel and gunmetal case types even worse, as they can't be dated properly.
I feel very comfortable with these two watches though.

Tom, thanks for the tip about the 'lever' hand setting ......... believe it or not, I thought the gear was bust ......... and so did the dealer that sold it me as 'spares or repair' looks like one job less to do!
I've not actually looked at it too close yet, so it was a real revelation discovering that trick!
Just goes to show we can all learn something new every day!
What sort of age would it be, any ideas?

Many thanks again
Best regards
John