keystone watch case serial number lookup

Keystone Watch Case Lookup Serial Numbers On Those
Keystone Watch Case Lookup Serial Number Lists

That collection of digits is more than just a random string of numbers, its the identity of that piece of equipment.

Keystone Watch Case Lookup Serial Number Lists

The following serial number lists will help date some of the most popular pieces of Case equipment.

These lists are thought to be accurate, but over the years some conflicting data has surfaced.

If a serial number doesnt seem correct some further research may be necessary.

Howard Watch Company and commonly referred to as Keystone Howards of an uptodate style were now made in the old United States Watch Co., Waltham factory building prchased as well as just the watchmaking portion of the old Howard company.

Another fact to consider is the still relatively small data set for this time period.

These codes and the manner in which they should be interpreted is the subject of this article.

In point of fact, those patent dates apply only to certain aspects of the case design and indicate only when those general designs were patented.

Those designs were used on many watches produced over a number of years, and the applicable patent date in no way indicates when any particular watch was produced.

Below are images showing the two patent dates that often cause confusion.

For example, movements made prior to 1924 do not bear the standard movement date code found on watches dated 1924 through 1949.

Keystone Watch Case Lookup Serial Numbers On Those

For a list of those codes, visit Bulova Date Codes.) Additionally, the case serial numbers on those early watches tend to begin with 1 or 2 and appear to bear no correlation to the date the watch was made.

Therefore, determining the date of one of these early models is difficult and often impossible to accomplish with absolute certainty.

Very early Bulova models do not have Bulova stamped on the case.

Rather they bear one of the American Standard case signatures.

The case signature begins to include the Bulova name around 1924.

For a detailed analysis, and examples, of Bulova case signatures through the years, Bulova Case Signatures.

Specifically, very early movements read Bulova W.

Co., rather than Bulova Watch Co., as seen on slightly later models.

This change quite likely coincides with the April 1923 re-incorporation of the J.

Bulova Company to the Bulova Watch Company, thereby providing an important date reference for these watches based on the movement signature.

That is, any watch movement with the signature Bulova W.

Moreover, that change corresponds nicely with the introduction of movement date codes.

So, we may further extrapolate that any watch without a movement date code, with Bulova W.

Co. on the movement, and with an American Standard only case signature, pre-dates April 1923.

Narrowing down the date beyond that with certainty may not be possible based on current information.

Below are examples of the two movement signatures seen in early Bulova watches, with the example on the right becoming the standard signature after April 1923.

Consultation with online movement lists may provide at least ballpark information regarding the date of the watch.

However, it is important to note that all such movement lists are based on observations of examples rather than any official Bulova documentation.

So, the lists may be incomplete and even inaccurate to the extent that they contain information on movements that are not on-hand and available for examination and verification.

Dating a watch this way requires opening the case and noting every detail of the movement and case and then comparing those details to the list below to see where the watch best fits in the timeline.

It is important to note that the conclusions conveyed below are based primarily on ladies models, as we have very few examles of mens watches dating prior to 1925.

Keystone Watch Case Serial Number Lookup