Rockford Watch Co. "I Can Fix A Rockford Watch" Trade Card, c.1890 (Front) This colorful trade card was distributed by the Rockford Watch Company in the 1890s to promote the company's "Quick Train" watch movements and ease of repair. The scene exhibits a young child working on a Rockford 18-Size Model 7 watch movement. The caption below the illustration reads,"I Can Fix a Rockford Watch." The reverse features a detailed engraving of a train and a watch dial marked "Railroad Watch." These small trade cards were popular for promoting products and frequently provided a dedicated area for retailers to stamp their business names and locations... Continue Reading

by Nathan Moore, 14 hours ago

1904 Seth Thomas Watch Material Catalog Cover The 1904 Seth Thomas Watch Material Catalog is the most fundamental resource for understanding, classifying, and studying the watch movements manufactured at the Seth Thomas factory. The company distributed this catalog in October 1904, featuring a pivotal serial list that provides model correlations for movements through number 795,250 and a couple of reserved blocks from 900,001 to 1,000,000. While grade designations are not provided in this list, it has become a building block for reconstructing a serial database and interactive lookup engine for Seth Thomas watch production. This catalog was previously reproduced in Chris H... Continue Reading

by Nathan Moore, 1 week ago

(A guest post by Jonathan Luysterborghs) What is a Private Label pocket watch?  How can we know which Private Label pocket watches were made by Seth Thomas. In which models, grades, and jewel counts were the various Seth Thomas Private Label watches manufactured?  Who placed the special orders that led to the production of the various Seth Thomas Private Label pocket watches? The Pocket Watch Database is an excellent resource for exploring and discovering the answers to these questions about the variety of Private Label pocket watches manufactured by Seth Thomas between 1885 and 1915.  In addition to the vast historical research provided by the Pocket Watch Database’s founder, Nathan Moore, there is a wealth of information to be gained by viewing, reading, and analyzing the “Collection View” pages for individual watches posted to the database by collectors from around the world. Many of the answers to our questions were originally presented in retailers’ catalogs and advertisements, Seth Thomas catalogs and price lists, and the guides published by horologists during the years, 1885-1915, that Seth Thomas was actively manufacturing and marketing pocket watches. Other guides, published after Seth Thomas pocket watch production ceased, provide us with access to the research of others who had interest in identifying, cataloging, and describing the detailed characteristics of Seth Thomas pocket watches as well as those produced by other manufacturers, and in some instances identifying who the wholesaler or retailer was who had special ordered private label pocket watches... Continue Reading

by Jonathan Luysterborghs, 2 weeks ago