Watch in Perfect working condition, case in nice condition. Hinges ok, all lids open and shut well,also lid opening crown button working fine. Full hunter case in perfect condition. Original enamel dial in mint condition,no hairlines or crack. Original blued hands in nice condition. Also glass in good condition. Watch Size: 41.2 mm without crown, 61.9 mm with crown and bow watch weight 59. Meanwhile, in Newport, Kentucky, John C. Dueber had established a company that made watch cases called the Dueber Watch Case Manufacturing Company. In 1886, he bought controlling interest in the Hampden Watch Company in order to protect his business from the Watch Case Trust. In 1888, Dueber moved the company from Massachusetts to Canton, Ohio.
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.
- Antique WALTHAM 17 Jewel Pocket Watch 14K Solid Gold DUEBER Hunters Case – Case is Monogrammed JRA. Watch Face is Signed WALTHAM. Watch Movement is Signed H. 17 JEWELS and stamped with the Serial # 21242706. For this movement serial number the Model is 1894, the Grade is No. 225, the estimated production year is 1917, Size 12s.
- 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 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. 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
Leather Pocket Watch Belt Case
Hampden Dueber Special Pocket Watch
References
Dueber Pocket Watch Case Serial Number Lookup
- 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.
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