AUTHENTIC VINTAGE BENRUS ROMAN TEXTURED DIAL GENTS WRISTWATCH

BRAND: AUTHENTIC VINTAGE BENRUS ROMAN TEXTURED DIAL GENTS WRISTWATCH

MADE IN: SWISS with JAPAN MOVEMENT

CIRCA: 1970's

MODEL: ROMAN TEXTURED DIAL DRESS WATCH

CRYSTAL: ACRYLIC VERY CLEAN, NO CRACKS NO SCRATCHES

MOVEMENT:V JAPAN MADE HAMAZAWA 17JEWELS MANUAL MOVEMENT CAL. 5062A

DIAL COLOR: GOLD TONE ROMAN TEXTURED DIAL

FUNCTIONS: HOUR, MINUTE, SECOND AND QUICKSET DATE AT 3:00

HANDS: GOLD TONE 

MARKERS: BLACK SILVER TONE ROMAN MARKERS

CASING : GOLD PLATED TOP AND STAINLESS STEEL BACK

LUGS: 18mm 

MEASUREMENT: 34mm DIAMETER EXCLUDING CROWN and 40mm LUG TO LUG

BEZEL: GOLD PLATED BEZEL

CASEBACK INSCRIPTION: BASE METAL BEZEL, STAINLESS STEEL BACK, WATER RESISTANT

CROWN: ORIGINAL UNIGNED BENRUS CROWNS

STRAP: NEW BLACK LEATHER BAND

SIZE STRAP: 9.5" FULL LENGHT

DISCONTINUED MODEL & VERY RARE.. EXCELLENT CONDITION, KEEPING GOODTIME, NO BOX and NO PAPER but GUARANTEED AUTHENTIC

PRICE: USD150 (NEGOTIABLE)
LISTING USD150 SOLD RM

A BRIEF HISTORY OF BENRUS WATCHES

Although the company went out of business in 1977, large numbers of their well made and dependable fine Benrus watches are available as vintage collectors’ items.

Way back in 1921 three brothers called Oscar, Ralph and Benjamin Lazrus founded the Benrus Watch Company. History doesn’t tell us why Benjamin was the brothers’ name that was chosen but the company name, Benrus, is a combination of the first syllable of his name and the second syllable of their family name. Benrus watches is sometimes mistaken for a Swiss watch making company because early in its history the American owned and operated company leased one floor of factory space from a Swiss owned watch making company that was located in La Chaux de Fonds in Switzerland. Their reason for doing this was to help to circumvent the draconian regulations against the use of Swiss watch movements in foreign time pieces. The earliest models of Benrus watches featured precision movements made by the Schild Company, a well known and established Swiss watch maker. The first watch casings from the Benrus Watch Company are not marked with their brand name due to the Swiss regulations discussed previously.

In the decade of the 1930’s the innovative and creative styling of Benrus watches started to attract quite a following. Their chic designs featured such innovations as cushion watches and rectangular shaped watch casings. It was during this period of time that the Benrus Watch Company first became well known to the American consumer market. The company continued to be known as a leader in style and design in the watch making industry. During the 1940’s they made a range of fine time pieces that are avidly sought after by vintage watch collectors today. Perhaps the most famous of these was the manually winding calendar watch.

Other brands that sold under the Benrus name were 

SOVEREIGN
BELFORTE

In the 1960's through the late 70's, Benrus made military issue watches used by the Army and Navy. These were issued to servicemen fighting in the Vietnam War. 

Early in the 1960's Ben and Ralph Lazrus were in their 70's and ready for retirement. By the mid to late 70's Benrus Incorporated was a diversified manufacturer of a number of consumer products. Companies included: Benrus Watch Co. Watches, Wells, Inc. Jewelry, and Destino, Ltd. - Christian Dior Products. An attempt to consolidate all the various manufacturing enterprises under one roof proved to be a much more expensive move than anyone calculated, and a final blow to the company which subsequently filed bankrupt in 1977.

The company was then sold, and after passing through several more hands, came under the ownership of the Hampden Company, which also owned "Fantasy Diamonds", with factories in both the Virgin Islands and Chicago. An attempt was made to bring back the Benrus brand under Hampden/Fantasy, which was somewhat successful but short lived. Among others, a reissue of Vietnam service watches proved very popular.

Brief History of Hamazawa Watch Movement

Hamazawa Ltd was founded in 1954. This company seems to have had close ties to Suwa Seikosha Ltd, including jointly applying for a couple of patents on electronic devices in the 1970s. In the late 1960s Hamazawa developed their 50xx and 80xx family of calibres. The base calibre of the 50xx series follows the cost-saving engineering practices found in Timex movements of the time, but with some refinements such as a jewelled lever escapement and jewelled balance bearings. 

Significantly, the Seiko magic lever winding mechanism was used in the automatic variants. As the patent was still in force for this technology, a license agreement between Seiko and Hamazawa would have been required. 

Most likely there was a joint venture to develop these movements, which were then used in Seiko’s cheaper lines such as Tomony and School Time. Hence the reason these movements are often identified as originating at Suwa Seikosha, despite their almost totally un-Seiko-like design. They were also used by Orient (in whom Seiko owned a majority share) as well as various other Japanese and foreign watch brands e.g. Benrus, Sears and Astral. In non-Seiko/Orient watches the movements are usually signed “Hamazawa Ltd.” In 1983 Hamazawa merged with Takagi Ltd and Tenryu Ltd (a major watch case supplier for Seiko) to form Sanritsu Ltd. In 1986, this company was swallowed up by Seiko-Epson. 

AUTHENTIC VINTAGE SETH THOMAS GENTS WRISTWATCH

BRAND: US MADE VINTAGE SETH THOMAS GENTS WRISTWATCH

CIRCA: 1960's

MODEL: VINTAGE

CRYSTAL/DIAL: VERY CLEAN ACRYLIC/GOLD TONE CROSS HAIR DIAL

MOVEMENT: SWISS  A.SCHILD 17 JEWELS AUTOMATIC WINDING MOVEMENT CAL. 1361

HANDS: LUMINOUS GOLD TONE HAND 

MARKERS: LUMINOUS BATON MARKER

CASING : 10K GOLD FILLED CASE and FROG LEG LUGS

BEZEL: 10K GOLD FILLED 

MEASUREMENT: 33mm DIAMETER without CROWN and 42mm LUG TO LUG

BACK CASE INSCRIPTION: -

CROWN: GOLD PLATED

STRAP: GENUINE LIZARD BLACK LEATHER BAND

STRAP SIZE: 8.5"

DISCONTINUED MODEL... VERY VERY RARE AND VERY HARD TO FIND!

EXCELLENT CONDITION AND KEEPING TIME 

PRICE: USD200 (SOLD TO RONNIE FROM MALACCA 25.7.17)

Seth Thomas Company History

Seth Thomas Clock Company was one of the most prolific and long lived clock companies. The quality of their products was always maintained at an above average level. Seth Thomas must have sold many clocks in the Lafayette, Indiana area, for out of all the antique clocks we repair, about 40% are made by Seth Thomas.

Many American clock factories in the 19th century suffered factory fires but Seth Thomas was fortunate in this respect. Through conservative growth and taking advantage of the new ideas of others, Seth Thomas was able to enjoy financial stability, whereas many other companies faced financial difficulties.

Seth Thomas was born in Wolcott, Connecticut in 1785, went to work for clockmaker Eli Terry in 1807, bought out Terry's factory (together with Silas Hoadley) in 1810, and in December 1813 bought out Heman Clark's clockmaking business in Plymouth Hollow.

Thomas continued Clark's wooden movement tall clock production, and about 1817 began making the wooden movement shelf clock. These were cased in pillar and scroll cases until 1830, when the bronze looking glass and other styles became popular. In 1842, brass movements were introduced, and first cased in the popular O.G. case (which was made until 1913). Wood movements were phased out in 1845. In 1853 Mr. Thomas incorporated the Seth Thomas Clock Company, so that the business would outlive him. Mr. Thomas died in 1859, and Plymouth Hollow was renamed Thomaston in his honor in 1865.

Mr. Thomas was very conservative, and after his death many new styles of clocks were introduced by his sons. Regulator clocks were introduced in 1860. The patterns and machinery for these had been purchased in 1859 from the creditors of bankrupt clockmaker Silas B. Terry. Spring driven clocks were introduced ca. 1855—1860. Perpetual calendar clocks were made from ca. 1863—1917. Some of the most popular later types include walnut kitchen clocks, made from 1884—1909; marble clocks, 1887—ca. 1895; black (Adamantine finish) wood mantel clocks, ca. 1885—1917; black enameled iron cased clocks, 1892—ca. 1895; oak kitchen clocks, 1890—ca. 1915; tambour clocks, introduced in 1904; chime clocks, introduced in 1909; and electric A/C clocks, introduced in 1928.

Many Seth Thomas clocks from 1881 to 1918 have a date code stamped in ink on the case back or bottom. Usually, the year is done in reverse, followed by a letter A—L representing the month. For example, April 1897 would appear as 7981 D.

In 1930 a holding company named General Time Instruments Corporation was formed to unite Seth Thomas Clock Company with Western Clock Company.

In 1955, a flood badly damaged the Seth Thomas factory. They phased out movement manufacturing and began importing many movements from Germany. Hermle, in the Black forest of Germany, has made many movements for Seth Thomas clocks.

In 1968, General Time was bought by Talley Industries, and in 1979 the headquarters was moved to Norcross, GA.

In June 2001 General Time announced that it was closing its entire operation. The Colibri Group acquired Seth Thomas. The NAWCC (the National Association of Watch and Clock collectors) purchased from Seth Thomas their collection of historical records, drawings, photographs, advertisements and documents.

AUTHENTIC VINTAGE WALTHAM RETRO DRESS GENTS WRISTWATCH

MADE IN: SWISS

CIRCA: 1960's

MODEL: RETRO DRESS

CRYSTAL: ACRYLIC

MOVEMENT: HIGH GRADE WALTHAM 17 JEWELS MANUAL MOVEMENT

DIAL COLOR: CREAM GOLD

FUNCTION: HOUR, MINUTE, CENTER SWIPE SECOND & DATE AT 3:00

HANDS: LUMINOUS GOLD TONE METAL

MARKERS: RAISED GOLD TONE BATON & ARABIC MARKER

CASING : BASE METAL GP TOP/STAINLESS STEEL BACK

HINGING LUGS: 18mm

MEASUREMENT: 36mm DIAMETER INCLUDING CROWN and 37mm LUG TO LUG

BACK CASE INSCRIPTION: -WALTHAM~SHOCK RESISTANT~WATERPROOF~ANTI MAGNETIC~ BASE METAL BEZEL~STAINLESS STEEL BACK

CROWN: ORIGINAL WALTHAM GP W CROWN

STRAP: GENUINE BLACK LEATHER STRAP

STRAP SIZE: 8.5"

EXCELLENT CONDITION, WORKING, KEEPING TIME, DISCONTINUED MODEL & VERY RARE AND VERY HARD TO FIND

PRICE: USD100 (NEGOTIABLE)

BRIEF HISTORY OF WALTHAM WATCHES

American Waltham Watch Company, founded in 1850, were one of the largest watch makers of the 19th Century. The company was founded on a relationship between three men, in Massachusetts USA.
Mr David Davis, a Mr Dension and a Mr Howard. It was based on a dream that they could produce watches that were of good quality, yet were not made from some of the more expensive materials usually found on watches of the era.

By 1851, the trio had there own production house, and the name 'American Horology Company' was adopted.

In 1852 the company had renamed themselves and watches were being produced with the signature 'The Warran Mfg. Co.' after a Revolutionary War Hero.
Watches 1 - 17, the first from the production line, were not placed on the market but were instead given to the company officials, and executives.
From then on the company went through a number of name changes, with watches #18 - 110 being engraved with "Warren Boston", the next 800 were marked "Samuel Curtis" (The Main Financial Backer of the Company) and a few were marked "Fellows and Schel" and were sold for $40.

In September 1853 the name was changed yet again to 'Boston Watch Company' an d a factory was erected in Waltham, Massachusetts in October 1854. The movements produced at this building are marked #1,001 to #5,000 and were marked with the engraving of "Dennison, Howard & Davis,", "C.T.Parker", and "P.S. Bartlett".
Times were hard and the Boston Watch Company failed in 1857, and was subsequently sold at Auction to Royal E Robbins.

In May 1857, the company was shuffled and became "Appleton, Tracey & Co.", and the watches produced in this time carried the serial numbers between, 5,001 and 14,000 ,model 1857. The C.T.Parker movement was re-introduced as Model 1857 and was sold for $12, 399 were made. In 1855 brass watches were being sold for $1. Also at this time 598 chronometers were made, and by January 1858 the P.S.Bartlet watch was made.

In January 1859, the Waltham Improvement Company and Appleton, Tracey & Co. merged to form The American watch Company.

Also an interesting fact is that, according to the biography by Carl Sandburg, Abraham Lincoln himself carried an American Waltham wrist watch, the 'William Ellory' Model, produced by Waltham, in 1863 and was an 18 size, 1859 ¾ plate model with steel balance.

The Waltham name is synonymous with quality and craftmanship, and remain to this day, very desirable timpieces and some of the Waltham finest watches were made in Le Locke, Switzerland.

This is a peculiar Waltham watch from the 60s, during the height of the “jewel war” Another interesting sight to note is the swiss movement, which was identical to those used in many early Blancpain Bathyscaphe watches. It was know that after the closure of Waltham manufacturing facilities in US in the early 60s, it imported and marketed Swiss watches in US, including the some of the famous divewatches made by Blancpain and LIPS.

Company Name History:

Approximate Date	Company Name
1850, September	Howard, Davis and Dennison, Roxbury Mass
1851 (for 6 months.)	American Horology Co., Roxbury Mass.
1851-1853	The Warren Mfg. Co., Roxbury Mass.
1853 (Sept) - 1857 (May)	Boston Watch Co., Roxbury Mass & Waltham Mass.
1857	Tracy Baker & Co., Waltham Mass.
1857-1859	Appleton Tracy and Co., Waltham Mass.
1859-1885	American Watch Co., Waltham Mass.
1885-1923	American Waltham Watch Co., Waltham Mass.
1923-1957	Waltham Watch Co., Waltham Mass.

AUTHENTIC VINTAGE WALTHAM RETRO GENTS WRISTWATCH

MADE IN: SWISS

CIRCA: 1960's

MODEL: RETRO DRESS

CRYSTAL: ACRYLIC

MOVEMENT: HIGH GRADE WALTHAM 17 JEWELS MANUAL CAL.P24 MOVEMENT

DIAL COLOR: BLACK

FUNCTION: HOUR, MINUTE, CENTER SWIPE SECOND and DATE AT 3:00

HANDS: LUMINOUS ARROW GOLD TONE METAL

MARKERS: RAISED STICK and ARABIC MARKER

CASING : BASE METAL TOP/STAINLESS STEEL BACK

HINGING LUGS: 18mm

MEASUREMENT: 36mm DIAMETER INCLUDING CROWN and 37mm LUG TO LUG

BACK CASE INSCRIPTION: -WALTHAM~SHOCK RESISTANT~WATERPROOF~ANTI MAGNETIC~ BASE METAL BEZEL~STAINLESS STEEL BACK

CROWN: ORIGINAL WALTHAM CROWN

STRAP: NEW GENUINE BLACK LEATHER STRAP

STRAP SIZE: 8.5"

EXCELLENT CONDITION, WORKING, KEEPING TIME, DISCONTINUED MODEL & VERY RARE AND VERY HARD TO FIND

PRICE: USD100 (NEGOTIABLE)

BRIEF HISTORY OF WALTHAM WATCHES

American Waltham Watch Company, founded in 1850, were one of the largest watch makers of the 19th Century. The company was founded on a relationship between three men, in Massachusetts USA.
Mr David Davis, a Mr Dension and a Mr Howard. It was based on a dream that they could produce watches that were of good quality, yet were not made from some of the more expensive materials usually found on watches of the era.

By 1851, the trio had there own production house, and the name 'American Horology Company' was adopted.

In 1852 the company had renamed themselves and watches were being produced with the signature 'The Warran Mfg. Co.' after a Revolutionary War Hero.
Watches 1 - 17, the first from the production line, were not placed on the market but were instead given to the company officials, and executives.
From then on the company went through a number of name changes, with watches #18 - 110 being engraved with "Warren Boston", the next 800 were marked "Samuel Curtis" (The Main Financial Backer of the Company) and a few were marked "Fellows and Schel" and were sold for $40.

In September 1853 the name was changed yet again to 'Boston Watch Company' an d a factory was erected in Waltham, Massachusetts in October 1854. The movements produced at this building are marked #1,001 to #5,000 and were marked with the engraving of "Dennison, Howard & Davis,", "C.T.Parker", and "P.S. Bartlett".
Times were hard and the Boston Watch Company failed in 1857, and was subsequently sold at Auction to Royal E Robbins.

In May 1857, the company was shuffled and became "Appleton, Tracey & Co.", and the watches produced in this time carried the serial numbers between, 5,001 and 14,000 ,model 1857. The C.T.Parker movement was re-introduced as Model 1857 and was sold for $12, 399 were made. In 1855 brass watches were being sold for $1. Also at this time 598 chronometers were made, and by January 1858 the P.S.Bartlet watch was made.

In January 1859, the Waltham Improvement Company and Appleton, Tracey & Co. merged to form The American watch Company.

Also an interesting fact is that, according to the biography by Carl Sandburg, Abraham Lincoln himself carried an American Waltham wrist watch, the 'William Ellory' Model, produced by Waltham, in 1863 and was an 18 size, 1859 ¾ plate model with steel balance.

The Waltham name is synonymous with quality and craftmanship, and remain to this day, very desirable timpieces and some of the Waltham finest watches were made in Le Locke, Switzerland.

This is a peculiar Waltham watch from the 60s, during the height of the “jewel war” Another interesting sight to note is the swiss movement, which was identical to those used in many early Blancpain Bathyscaphe watches. It was know that after the closure of Waltham manufacturing facilities in US in the early 60s, it imported and marketed Swiss watches in US, including the some of the famous divewatches made by Blancpain and LIPS.

Company Name History:

Approximate Date	Company Name
1850, September	Howard, Davis and Dennison, Roxbury Mass
1851 (for 6 months.)	American Horology Co., Roxbury Mass.
1851-1853	The Warren Mfg. Co., Roxbury Mass.
1853 (Sept) - 1857 (May)	Boston Watch Co., Roxbury Mass & Waltham Mass.
1857	Tracy Baker & Co., Waltham Mass.
1857-1859	Appleton Tracy and Co., Waltham Mass.
1859-1885	American Watch Co., Waltham Mass.
1885-1923	American Waltham Watch Co., Waltham Mass.
1923-1957	Waltham Watch Co., Waltham Mass.

AUTHENTIC VINTAGE WALTHAM RETRO GENTS WRISTWATCH (SOLD)

MADE IN: SWISS

CIRCA: 1960's

MODEL: RETRO DRESS

CRYSTAL: ACRYLIC

MOVEMENT: SWISS WALTHAM 17 JEWELS MANUAL MOVEMENT

DIAL COLOR: METALLIC BROWN

FUNCTION: HOUR, MINUTE AND CENTER SWIPE SECOND and DATE AT 3:00

HANDS: LUMINOUS GOLD TONE METAL

MARKERS: RAISED GOLD TONE STICK MARKER

CASING : BASE METAL GP TOP/STAINLESS STEEL BACK

HINGING LUGS: 18mm

MEASUREMENT: 36mm DIAMETER INCLUDING CROWN and 37mm LUG TO LUG

BACK CASE ENGRAVING: -WALTHAM~SHOCK RESISTANT~WATERPROOF~ANTI MAGNETIC~ BASE METAL BEZEL~STAINLESS STEEL BACK

CROWN: ORIGINAL WALTHAM GP CROWN

STRAP: NEW GENUINE BROWN LEATHER STRAP

STRAP SIZE: 8.5"

EXCELLENT CONDITION, WORKING, KEEPING TIME, DISCONTINUED MODEL & VERY RARE AND VERY HARD TO FIND

PRICE: USD120 (NEGOTIABLE)

BRIEF HISTORY OF WALTHAM WATCHES

American Waltham Watch Company, founded in 1850, were one of the largest watch makers of the 19th Century. The company was founded on a relationship between three men, in Massachusetts USA.
Mr David Davis, a Mr Dension and a Mr Howard. It was based on a dream that they could produce watches that were of good quality, yet were not made from some of the more expensive materials usually found on watches of the era.

By 1851, the trio had there own production house, and the name 'American Horology Company' was adopted.

In 1852 the company had renamed themselves and watches were being produced with the signature 'The Warran Mfg. Co.' after a Revolutionary War Hero.
Watches 1 - 17, the first from the production line, were not placed on the market but were instead given to the company officials, and executives.
From then on the company went through a number of name changes, with watches #18 - 110 being engraved with "Warren Boston", the next 800 were marked "Samuel Curtis" (The Main Financial Backer of the Company) and a few were marked "Fellows and Schel" and were sold for $40.

In September 1853 the name was changed yet again to 'Boston Watch Company' an d a factory was erected in Waltham, Massachusetts in October 1854. The movements produced at this building are marked #1,001 to #5,000 and were marked with the engraving of "Dennison, Howard & Davis,", "C.T.Parker", and "P.S. Bartlett".
Times were hard and the Boston Watch Company failed in 1857, and was subsequently sold at Auction to Royal E Robbins.

In May 1857, the company was shuffled and became "Appleton, Tracey & Co.", and the watches produced in this time carried the serial numbers between, 5,001 and 14,000 ,model 1857. The C.T.Parker movement was re-introduced as Model 1857 and was sold for $12, 399 were made. In 1855 brass watches were being sold for $1. Also at this time 598 chronometers were made, and by January 1858 the P.S.Bartlet watch was made.

In January 1859, the Waltham Improvement Company and Appleton, Tracey & Co. merged to form The American watch Company.

Also an interesting fact is that, according to the biography by Carl Sandburg, Abraham Lincoln himself carried an American Waltham wrist watch, the 'William Ellory' Model, produced by Waltham, in 1863 and was an 18 size, 1859 ¾ plate model with steel balance.

The Waltham name is synonymous with quality and craftmanship, and remain to this day, very desirable timpieces and some of the Waltham finest watches were made in Le Locke, Switzerland.

This is a peculiar Waltham watch from the 60s, during the height of the “jewel war” Another interesting sight to note is the swiss movement, which was identical to those used in many early Blancpain Bathyscaphe watches. It was know that after the closure of Waltham manufacturing facilities in US in the early 60s, it imported and marketed Swiss watches in US, including the some of the famous divewatches made by Blancpain and LIPS.

Company Name History:

Approximate Date	Company Name
1850, September	Howard, Davis and Dennison, Roxbury Mass
1851 (for 6 months.)	American Horology Co., Roxbury Mass.
1851-1853	The Warren Mfg. Co., Roxbury Mass.
1853 (Sept) - 1857 (May)	Boston Watch Co., Roxbury Mass & Waltham Mass.
1857	Tracy Baker & Co., Waltham Mass.
1857-1859	Appleton Tracy and Co., Waltham Mass.
1859-1885	American Watch Co., Waltham Mass.
1885-1923	American Waltham Watch Co., Waltham Mass.
1923-1957	Waltham Watch Co., Waltham Mass.