Below is the 1st video I assisted Waltham Watches with for their new
Waltham "Field & Marine" Watch and overall Waltham history.
I'm the narrator and project historical advisor.
1914 WWI Waltham Trench Watch, Philadelphia Silverode Case, Original Factory Crown, High End 15 Jewel Movement, Re-Lumed Enamel Shadow Box Military Dial and Skeleton Hands, Mealy Manufacturing "DUO" Crystal Guard, Hand Made Leather Kitchener Strap
Up for sale today is an exceptionally beautiful and very desirable 1914 WWI Waltham Trench Watch, housed in a Philadelphia silverode case that features a high end 15 jewel movement, BIG size 0s version, a Mealy Manufacturing "DUO" Crystal Guard, the original factory crown, a re-lumed Shadow Box military dial & skeleton hands and a hand made leather Kitchener Strap. This absolutely remarkable piece of American craftsmanship is in superb condition. Our Great Grandfather's knew how to make things that would last for generations! The incredibly beautiful movement was just completely taken apart and serviced in April of 2024, a brand new mainspring has also been installed. It's now in superb running condition and keeping excellent time. This watch has been tested on a professional timegraph 5000 Machine for accuracy so rest assured! Take another look at picture number three again, this movement is clean as a whistle and stunningly beautiful! I'm sure that you have noticed by now that this is not your ordinary trench watch case by a long shot! This is a silverode trench watch case that was manufactured by the Philadelphia Watch Case Company, circa 1914. You can tell that this is a very early version because the inside of the case back does not have a serial number. Philadelphia did not start putting serial number on these cases until 1915. The case has NOT been polished, just cleaned up a bit. Plus, this watch still has the original factory crown! This Waltham has been fitted with a Mealy Manufacturing "DUO" Crystal Guard, snap on version. The guard is in original condition and has not been polished either, looks fantastic. This watch is simply incredible! The enamel dial on this WWI Waltham Trench Watch is among the most desirable they ever made, the Shadow Box military dial! The dial features a white face, shadow box numerals, an outer track minute markers, the correct blue steel skeleton hands for this dial and is signed "WALTHAM" near the center. The dial and hands have been re-lumed using safe modern material. Dark brown in color for that very desirable vintage look. This historic and iconic WWI Waltham Trench Watch has been fitted with an, American made, hand made leather Kitchener Strap that absolutely makes the watch! Take a look at picture number two again, this watch looks stunning on the wrist! The strap will fit a wrist up to about 7.75 inches. It will have a bit of wear on it because I seriously could not resist wearing this one for a few days, can you blame me? Here are the movement details: 1913 Waltham, serial number 18927083, 15 jewels, larger size 0s version, grade 165, model 1907. They just don't make them like this anymore! The case measures 38mm lug tip to lug tip, 32.7mm without the original factory crown with a 10mm lug width. A brand new glass crystal has been installed using UV cement and a UV curing machine. A brand new inner sleeve has been installed in the crown tube, it now has a nice firm "pop", just as it should. This watch is ready to be worn and shown off, it will surely get noticed! I put a lot of time and effort into this incredibly desirable 1914 WWI Waltham Trench Watch, I'm sure that you will appreciate the quality and quantity of work that has been done. Solid old World craftsmanship at its finest! You would be seriously hard pressed to find a finer example of this 1914 WWI Waltham Trench Watch that features a Philadelphia silverode case, original factory crown, a Mealy Manufacturing "DUO" Crystal Guard, an incredible re-lumed Shadow Box enamel military dial & blue steel skeleton hands, 15 jewel movement, larger size 0s version and a hand made leather Kitchener Strap! This one sets the bar!
1917 WWI Elgin "General Funston" Trench Watch, RARE GOLD FILLED Illinois Watch Case Company Case, Size 3/0s, BIG 34mm Case, 15 Jewels, SEMI-HERMETIC Threaded Case, Swivel Lugs, Original Factory Crown, Re-Lumed Large Font Shadow Box Military Dial, Center Reservoir Military Hands, Dark Brown Leather Strap
TOP SHELF! Up for sale today is an exceptionally beautiful and extremely desirable GOLD FILLED SEMI-HERMETIC 1917 WWI Elgin "General Funston" Trench Watch that features a high end 15 jewel movement, swivel lugs, the original factory crown and a re-lumed enamel Shadow Box military dial! This is the RARE LARGE FONT Elgin Shadow Box military dial that is pretty hard to come by. This absolutely remarkable piece of American craftsmanship is in great condition, hard to believe this watch is 107 years old. Our Great Grandfather's knew how to make things that would last for generations. The movement was just completely taken apart and serviced in April of 2024, a brand new mainspring has also been installed. It's now in superb running condition and keeping excellent time. This watch has been tested on a professional timegraph 5000 Machine for accuracy so rest assured. Take another look at picture number three again, this movement is clean as a whistle and stunningly beautiful. I'm sure that you have noticed by now that this is not your ordinary trench watch case by a long shot! This is a GOLD FILLED SEMI-HERMETIC trench watch case featuring SWIVEL LUGS that was manufactured by the Illinois Watch Case Company in 1917. The gold filled version of this case is EXTREMELY hard to obtain as they are FAR more rare than the nickel versions! Semi-Hermetic means that this case is threaded so the bezel and case back screw on and off. This was a far superior design when compared to common cases that are friction fit that simply snap together. Flared swivel lugs were the 1918 model year, rectangle swivel lugs as seen on this model were 1917. The IWCCo case has not been polished, just cleaned up. Plus, this watch still has the original factory gold filled crown! This watch is simply incredible! In September of 1917 the Illinois Watch Case Company gave proper names to four of their top end trench watch cases. This one was named the "General Funston" after General Frederick Funston of the United States Army. You can see General Funston's photograph in the pictures. Affectionately known as "Fearless Freddie" by the men who served under him. General Funston is best known for his actions in the Spanish-American War and the Philippine-American War. He received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Philippine-American War. So, it makes perfect sense that the IWWCo would name one of their best cases after him. The enamel dial on this 1917 WWI Elgin "General Funston" Trench Watch is the most desirable they ever made, the Shadow Box Military Dial! The dial features a white face, shadow box numerals, outer minute markers, the correct blue steel center reservoir military hands for this dial and is signed "ELGIN" near the center. The dial and the hands have been re-lumed using modern safe material, dark brown in color for that very desirable vintage look. Almost nobody takes the time to re-lume Elgin's center reservoir military hands because it's very difficult, there is no gravity assist with these hands when applying the lume. I went the extra mile on this high end American made trench watch! This historic and iconic WWI American made trench watch has been fitted with a dark brown leather strap that absolutely makes the watch! Take a look at picture number two again, this watch looks stunning on the wrist! The strap will fit a wrist up to eight inches and has a matching buckle. It will have a bit of wear on it because I seriously could not resist wearing this one for a day, can you blame me? Here are the movement details: 1917 Elgin, 15 jewels, size 3/0s version, serial number 20942405, grade 464. They just don't make them like this anymore! The case measures 45mm lug tip to lug tip, 34.5mm without the original factory crown with a 14mm lug diameter. A brand new GS PK Lo-Dome crystal has been installed. A brand new inner sleeve has been installed in the crown tube. It now has a nice firm POP, just as it should. There is ZERO crown lag! This watch is ready to be worn and shown off, it will surely get noticed! I put a lot of time and effort into this Elgin, I'm sure that you will appreciate the quality and quantity of work that has been done. Solid old World craftsmanship at its finest! You would be seriously hard pressed to find a finer example of this GOLD FILLED 34mm SEMI-HERMETIC 1917 WWI Elgin "General Funston" Trench Watch with 15 jewels, SWIVEL LUGS, the original factory crown and a re-lumed enamel Shadow Box military dial. This one sets the bar!
1914 WWI Waltham "OFFSET CROWN" Trench Watch, High End 15 Movement, Philadelphia Silverode Case, BIG Size 0s Version, Original Factory Crown, BOLD Arabic Enamel Military Dial, Thick Blue Steel Hands, Dark Brown Leather Kitchener Strap.
Up for sale today is an exceptionally beautiful and very desirable 1914 WWI OFFSET CROWN Waltham Trench Watch, housed in a Philadelphia silverode case, featuring a high end 15 jewel movement, the original factory crown, BIG size 0s version, a BOLD Arabic enamel military dial and a dark brown leather Kitchener Strap! This absolutely remarkable piece of American craftsmanship is in superb condition. Our Great Grandfather's knew how to make things that would last for generations! Hard to believe that this Waltham is 110 years old! The incredibly beautiful movement was just completely taken apart and serviced in April of 2024, a brand new mainspring has also been installed. It's now in superb running condition and keeping excellent time. This watch has been tested on a professional timegraph 5000 Machine for accuracy so rest assured! Take another look at picture number three again, this movement is clean as a whistle and stunningly beautiful! I'm sure that you have noticed by now that this is not your ordinary trench watch case by a long shot! This is an OFFSET CROWN trench watch case that was manufactured by the Philadelphia Watch Case Company in 1914. You can tell that this is among the earliest ever made due to the fact that the case does not have a serial number. Philly didn't start putting serial numbers on these cases until 1915. The case has NOT been polished, just cleaned up a bit. Plus, this watch still has the ORIGINAL FACTORY CROWN! This watch is simply incredible! The enamel dial on this WWI Waltham Trench Watch is among the most desirable they ever made, the BOLD Arabic military dial! The dial features a white face, large font BOLD Arabic numerals, an outer track minute markers, the correct thick blue steel hands for this dial, sub second hand and is signed "WALTHAM" near the center. This historic and iconic OFFSET CROWN WWI Waltham Trench Watch has been fitted with a dark brown leather Kitchener Strap that absolutely makes the watch! Take a look at picture number two again, this watch looks stunning on the wrist! The strap will fit a wrist up to about 7.75 inches and has a matching buckle. It will have a bit of wear on it because I seriously could not resist wearing this one for a few days, can you blame me? Here are the movement details: 1913 Waltham, 15 jewels, BIG size 0s version, serial number 18593045, grade 115, model 1900. They just don't make them like this anymore! The case measures 39mm lug tip to lug tip, 32.7mm without the original factory crown with a 10mm lug diameter. A brand new glass crystal has been installed using UV cement and a UV curing machine. A brand new inner sleeve have been install, the crown has a nice firm POP, just as it should. This watch is ready to be worn and shown off, it will surely get noticed! I put a lot of time and effort into this incredibly desirable OFFSET CROWN Waltham Trench Watch, I'm sure that you will appreciate the quality and quantity of work that has been done. Solid old World craftsmanship at its finest! You would be seriously hard pressed to find a finer example of this OFFSET CROWN 1914 WWI Waltham Trench Watch that features an incredible Philadelphia case, a BOLD Arabic enamel military dial, correct thick blue steel hands, a high end 15 jewel movement, BIG size 0s version and a leather Kitchener Strap! This one sets the bar!
American Made Trench Watch Evaluation Service
Considering making a purchase of an American made WWI era trench watch? I'd be happy to evaluate the watch for you. I've written three hardbound books about American made trench watches and I'm the recipient of the NAWCC Museum Research Award in this field. I'll give you extremely detailed information about the trench watch from the crown, dial, hands, case, movement, strap and any possible shrapnel guards attached to the watch. I will identify everything about the watch that is correct and and incorrect. Over the past 100+ years many parts on these watches have been changed, just to get them up and running once again. But, having an incorrect crown or mis-matched set of hands on a trench watch can seriously devalue the timepiece. I will NOT put a dollar amount on the watch as the movement performance will not be able to be ascertained through photographs. What you pay for the watch is between you and the seller. I will also evaluate entire collections, contact for collection pricing. I will need clear pictures of the case, dial, hands, movement and inside of the case back for a full evaluation. It's better to spend $50.00 on my evaluation services before you make a purchase! You certainly don't want to find out down the road that the watch is worth a fraction of what you paid for it due to incorrect parts that are not original to the timepiece.
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I will evaluate American made trench watches from the following manufacturers.
Elgin, Waltham, Depollier, Illinois, Hamilton, Hampden, Ingersoll
Once you purchase my evaluation services please email me the required pictures.
$50.00 PER WATCH EVALUATION