The following is taken from a 1913 trade advert (Thanks JS!) and shows the original cost of the movement without case adjusted for US inflation since then and the main features of the movement:Ħ30: $416 17 Jewels adjusted for temperatureĦ35: $440 17 Jewels adjusted for temperature, steel escape wheel, sapphire pallets Bartlett (PSB), Royal, Riverside, Crescent St, Vanguard, Riverside Maximus. The second convention came in much later and had 2 digits for the size and 2 digits for the number of jewels.īeyond that names were generally used with the following being them main high quality grades in order of increasing quality: P.S. This convention was followed across the size ranges so an 845 is a very high grade size 18 movement. In the first the first digit is '6' being the last digit of the movements size and the next two digits being a grade number in ascending order of quality so that a 610 is a low grade and 645 very high. For the bulk of watches that have a numbered grade there are two main naming conventions: Waltham were not consistent in their grade naming, particularly in the long term, and it is further complicated by Export and special order models and with some grades coming with a different number of jewels and specifications which also varied with time. To see these and other posts about S16 Walthams in the reverse order they were posted then click on S16 Walthams under 'labels' on the right side bar. I had planned to copy posts onto this page but it quickly became apparent that the editor could not cope so apart from the original content I have constructed an index of the main posts with links to the individual posts regarding each grade. Note that specifications did change over time, the descriptions below being typical, also that many of the movements do not have the grade engraved on the movement, just a name, to get the grade of some you have to go to the production records or go from memory.

If you are trying to identify a Waltham movement then put the serial number into the NAWCC database, remembering in both cases to use the serial number from the movement NOT the case. It will consist of original items and links to Blog posts which will hopefully grow to show all of the main grades.Ĭheck out the Renaissance Watch Repair's web site for a brief history of Waltham which also has approximate manufacturing dates.

This page is about size 16 Waltham keyless watches, primarily the highly successful 18 models but with some information about the 1888 and previous models.

Crescent Watch Case Co Serial Numbers