Dueber Pocket Watch Case Serial Number
Note that we're using the serial number from the watch movement, not from the watch case. Looking at the table of Waltham serial numbers (see example below), you can see that number 20,900,000 was made in 1917 and 21,800,000 was made in 1918 (marked in red in the table below). Note that we're using the serial number from the watch movement, not from the watch case. Looking at the table of Waltham serial numbers (see example below), you can see that number 20,900,000 was made in 1917 and 21,800,000 was made in 1918 (marked in red in the table below).
The Dueber Watch Case Company was an important employer in Canton, Ohio during the late 1800s and the early 1900s.
In 1864, John Dueber founded the Dueber Watch Case Company in Newport, Kentucky. This firm manufactured cases that held the internal workings of watches. The Dueber Watch Case Company provided the casings to watch manufacturers, including the Hampden Watch Company, which was located in Springfield, Massachusetts. The Hampden Watch Company's product so impressed Dueber that in 1886 he purchased a controlling interest in this company. In 1888 Dueber relocated the Dueber Watch Case Company from Newport and the Hampden Watch Company from Springfield to Canton, Ohio. In this new location, the two companies shared manufacturing facilities. The Dueber Watch Case Company produced the cases for the watches that the Hampden Watch Company manufactured. In 1923, the two companies formally united together, becoming known as the Dueber-Hampden Watch Company.
The Dueber Watch Case Company and the Hampden Watch Company quickly became two of Canton's largest employers. In 1888, the companies' first year in Canton, the firms employed 2,300 Canton residents. Libreoffice old versions. In 1890, Canton's population was 26,337 people. Thanks to these two companies, Canton became an important center for watch manufacturing in the United States of America. Unfortunately for Canton residents, in 1927 the company went bankrupt, finally ceasing operations in the city in 1930. The machinery and tools were sold to the Amtorg Trading Corporation, one of Soviet Russia’s buying agencies in the US, for $329.000. 23 former Dueber-Hampden watchmakers, engravers and various other technicians were hired, for one year, to help train the Russian workers in the art of watch making at The First State Watch Factory, Moscow.
See Also
References
- Howe, Henry. Historical Collections of Ohio. Columbus, OH: Henry Howe & Son, 1891.
- Garratt, Alan. Beyond Springfield and Moscow: The remarkable story of Hampden watches. 2014. Web. 2 October 2014. <www.hampdenwatches.com>.
- Gibbs, James W. The Dueber-Hampden Story. Exeter, NH : Adams Brown, 1954.
- 'The Watch Trade War.' The New York Times. 10 April 1895.
Dueber Pocket Watch Case Serial Number Lookup
was given to him when he was very young and he retired several years ago
so it isn't young. He thought it belonged to a member of his mothers
family. But when I looked up the serial number of the watch, (it's a 17
jewell Elgin with what appears to be a metal face with painted numerals)
it turned out to be made in 1923 which would not fit with the age of the
individual he thought it came from. There is a serial number on the
case as well which is a 20 year Dueber which is badly worn. The serial
number is 118080 and it is a pendent at 12 o'clock type. I don't know a
lot about these things but in examining it, I wondered if the watch may
have been in a different case at some time. It does run, or at least it
was running when I took off the back of the case to look at the
movement. When I tried to wind it the hands turned instead. I tried to
push in the stem, but it felt as though it was on a spring like it would
if it was a hunting case movement. I never succeeded in winding it.
Any way with all these things not seeming to fit, I wondered if it had
been in a different case once.
He would like to have it running and usable, but I think I read once
where wind and set problems were the most expensive and difficult to
fix. Is that true? And is there some place I can find the date of the
case from the serial number?
Thank you very much.
Jim