A selection of 18th, 19th, and 20th century british silvermiths illustrated with their marks and biographical information. American watch manufacturers renaissance watch repair. British hallmarks and sponsors marks in watch cases. A brief document giving some working dates for william tanner of hailsham and lewes. Date letter search facility for birmingham hallmarks. There are five distinct marks, the sponsors mark af at the top, the date letter to the left, the leopards head of the london assay office to the right and the standard mark in the centre in two parts, a. Illustrations of the various import marks are shown on the import marks page.
Watch cases made in america carry marks stamped by their makers that were not. Investing in acrylic templates will save you time, money, and leather materials. These are not official british or swiss hallmarks, they are marks that the case maker has put onto the case that look sufficiently official that british customs and customers in britain would be convinced that the case. The stylish logos were discontinued and the pocket knives from the 1940s had straight case xx marks 1940 to 1964 and case xx metal stampings ltd 1948 to 1952. How to identify the hallmarks on an old pocket watch antique watches jewelry. Offering high quality tools and materials for leather workers. My name is adam phillips a goldsmith with over 30 years experience in the making and repair of all types of watch case, from antique pocket watches to modern wrist watches. Swiss hallmarks, and other swiss case marks by david boettcher.
However, i am constantly trying to improve the quality of the examples and also to expand the number of makers represented. Porcelain and pottery trade marks from the arlecchino antique shop. Although provision was made by the swiss watch case makers association for. Dial names, except in the case of american watches, are often of little use in identifying the maker. The makers mark bears the initials of the maker in a shield approved and registered at the assay office. The cuttingedge technology was kept secret so competitors would not learn of this massproduction method. The maker s mark was introduced in 63 to identify the maker. How to identify the brand of a vintage pocket knife our. When all of the dots were gone after 2005, the xs were removed one by one until 2010.
Utlizing the high quality cast acrylic for our leather templates allows for a smooth flame polished edge that is less likely to chip or break during use. In 2000, case developed a dating system using an old style case xx stamp along with a mix of dots and xs both above the case xx symbol and below. From simple repairs to making an entire case from scratch. Opinel, a french pocket knife maker, uses a hand with a finger pointing at a crown as a hallmark logo. The new collectors 2 guide to pocket watches although water may appear to drip at a steady, fixed rate, in fact the more water is in the vessel the faster it leaks out due to the pressure exerted by the weight of the water. It is regularly updated as we find and photograph new examples of silver hallmarks and makers marks. The sponsors mark ab in an oval shield, the registered mark. Listing of american watch case manufacturing companies. Many other template makers use extruded acrylic which is a cheaper alternative.
As is often the case, this mark is rubbed from polishing, and the original fine detail lost. Reading from the top and then left to right the marks are. Arthur baume, longines, london 1877 1878 hallmarks swiss made case. I dont get to read ebooks on it often for that reason. A good guidebook will show many makers marks and variations of identifying marks companies used in different eras. Seen in a pocket watch case with swiss hallmarks for 14 carat gold and the.
To navigate the site, it is easiest to use the green menu bar at the top of the screen. Until the 1920s, cases were almost always made by different companies than those that made the watch movements, and watches could be cased at the factory, or by the distributor, or by the individual retailer at the point of sale. Manufacture and restoration of all types of gold and silver pocket watch case. Swiss hallmarks and other marks found in watch cases. Case xx stainless appeared in 1950 to 1964, and was the last mark without u. Identification hallmarking research guides at state library of. British silver hallmarks are based on a combination of marks that makes possible the identification of the origin and the age of each silver piece manufactured or traded in the uk.
Pocket watch makers mark help hi guys, i am new to this forum and am hoping that someone might be able to assist me in identifying this watchmakers mark. A brief document giving some working dates for two makers called george lumley, they were father and son. They stayed separate until about 1925 when the companies were legally merged. Here checking with previously made location marks the positions for the pendent and spring catch. Historically, hallmarks were applied by a trusted party. Instantly upgrade your bedroom with the ultrasoft members mark 450threadcount sheets.
The compulsory components of a hallmark are the assay office mark, a numerical fineness mark and a sponsors or maker s mark. The font, case, and shield shape all change so each can only indicate one specific year. I picked up a waltham hunters pocket watch at an auction recently. Since 1 january 1999 the traditional fineness mark e. Marks in watch cases hallmarks, sponsors marks, etc. Inside secrets of a pocket watch from 1680 youtube. Aaron lufkin dennison ald, watchmaker, boston, massachusetts. Being only intended for a pocketvolume, unimportant factories and. Hallmark identification in addition to the tables of makers marks the site now also includes a section on hallmark identification with hallmarks indexed both by date letter and date sequence. These sheets dry faster in the dryer than conventional sheets to save you time and energy costs. Hallmarking of watches incorporation of goldsmiths.
Town mark, corresponding to the mark of the uk assay office that has verified the piece. I was originally based in clerkenwell, london but now my workshop is in chesham, bucks an easy commute to london if i need to visit customers. A fine, rare and unusual 18k gold halfhunter case quarter repeating lever watch with. The vast majority of french silver found today was made after 1838 and will bear only two marks. I now have two identical pocket watch movements, both dated about 1918 which have this maker s mark on the movement. When you find something you want to view later, put it in pocket. A pocket watch or pocketwatch is a watch that is made to be carried in a pocket, as opposed. These etching machines are at the white pine village museum.
There may be some variations in backgrounds during the late 19th century, especially on watch cases. The sites main focus is the silver markings used on vintage and antique sterling and coin silver, for those of you. Identification of clockwatch models and makers and when they were made. A similar mark registered by joseph walton see below and note top of central part of w level with top of letter joseph walton 18681909 registered feb 1867 cigarette case, jar lid, napkin ring, sovereign case, watch case upper charles street, london ec.
Star watch case company was the patent owner of this invention since mr. This gave the company an advantage in fast watch case production. The shield shape varies, and a minimum of two initials must be included. In the case of a well known watch case maker relying on the marks will be safe. These marks are usually not in close proximity as shown in the. The marks are the best indication of the actual movement manufacturer. There are two main styles of pocket watch, the hunter case pocket watch and the.
Hallmarks are a guarantee of certain purity or fineness of the metal, as determined by official metal assay testing. Hallmarking of watches imported into britain during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The larger picture here shows a set of hallmarks in an 18 carat gold watch case. One has the movement inscribed by a london watchmaker and the other by a. The inclusion of initial stamps alongside the hallmarks means that most makers can also be identified. The english goldsmiths marks from 1400 to 1900 1 makers marks and hallmarks from england, scotland, and ireland rare reference. Marks found in watch cases such as hallmarks, sponsors mark, date letter, assay office mark. There is a reasonably priced pocket version available that shows the different. Specialist publications help explain different makers or sponsors marks, with sir charles jacksons english goldsmiths and their marks, first published in 1905 and revised in 1989, still the most authoritative work on the subject. The marks used by british and english silver hallmarking system are.
This chronological list of famous watchmakers is a list of those who influenced the development. The crown mark in the image is stamped twice inside the case back. Most often these marks are found stamped into the metal of the main plate under the balance wheel, or in older watches on the main plate under the dial. Info, specs, and value american antique pocket watches, with serial number lookups for manufacturers such as elgin, illinois, waltham, and hamilton. It is a tradition that sponsors marks are listed alphabetically starting with the first letter of the mark rather than the surname. This is a page of a small collection of antique silver and objects of vertu, a pages richly illustrated website offering all you need to know about antique silver, sterling silver, silverplate, sheffield plate, electroplate silver, silverware, flatware, tea services and tea complements, marks and hallmarks, articles, books, auction catalogs, famous silversmiths tiffany, gorham, jensen. Members mark 450threadcount sheet set assorted colors. Watch manufacturing was truly one of the hightech industries of its day, and there were many startup watch companies, only some of which achieved commercial success. Many pocket knife manufacturers used a full name like shrade stamped in the blade. Download a feature article on the leopard from the goldsmiths company. Clock and watch maker details added or updated recently. The list of companies that manufactured watches in the united states in the 18001900s is far longer than most people realize. A manual of marks on pottery and porcelain western australian.
Birmingham silver marks, marks and hallmarks of british silver, including date letters chart and symbols of assay offices of other towns as london, sheffield, dublin, edinburgh, chester, glasgow. These are not official british or swiss hallmarks, they are marks that the case maker has put onto the case that look sufficiently official that british customs and customers in britain would be convinced that the case was in fact nine carat gold. In parallel with the development of the american watch manufacturing industry came a large number of companies producing watch cases. Founder of nawcc chapter 149the leading pocket watch collectors club. Edward barnard in this example and became known as the maker s mark although it was. If you want to identify many watch case sponsors marks i suggest you get hold of a copy of philip priestlys book on the subject. It is formed of initials of that person or company inside a shield shape.
Just wondering if anybody has any original stamps from the old companies that were used to put a tang stamp on the blade i was thinking folks collect lots of ephemera from knife companies but never saw an original stamp i imagine there are no. The testing assay and hallmarking of gold and silver items in britain goes back to the year 0. When you create your punch with us, you join a register of makers stretching back. Hallmarks are often confused with trademarks or makers marks. Sponsors marks in watch cases vintage watch straps. This is the registered mark of the company or person that submitted the article for hallmarking. Hampden movements were frequently offered factory fitted into dueber cases. Discussion of pocket watch cases and their collectability. The right example the small guarantee mark boars head and maker s mark.
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