In 1914 the Waltham Watch Co.

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1 Small Mantel, Boudoir, Large Mantel, Mirror, & Wall Clocks from Waltham Clock Co. by Andrew H. Dervan, FNAWCC (MI) In 1914 the Waltham Watch Co. purchased the Waltham Clock Co. to diversify its product offerings beyond pocket watches and wristwatches. For information on Waltham Clock Co. s history and clock production, read my two Bulletin articles: April 2005 (No. 355, page 196) and August 2008 (No. 375, page 198). Waltham Watch Co. set up Waltham Clock Co. as a separate division, because it wanted to capitalize on Waltham Clock Company s reputation for manufacturing highquality precision movements. After the company s purchase, it continued offering the original Waltham Clock Co. high-quality weightdriven regulators and 5-, 7-, and 9-chime hall clock movements in a variety of mahogany cases retailing for between $650 and $800 for the high-end market. Those were very expensive clocks and the market was limited, so in 1916 the company began offering a line of mahoganycase mantel clocks with its newly Figure 1a, above. Small mahogany mantel model No developed chiming, time and strike, and time-only movements that were more modestly priced. Over the next few years Waltham Clock Co. increased the variety of its clock offerings (Table 1). These clock offerings can be divided into two groups: (1) small mantel, boudoir, mirror, and wall clocks and Table 1. Figure 1b. Small mantel model No. 1207, back, showing movement and open dust cover. 172 March/April 2015 NAWCC Watch & Clock Bulletin

2 (2) large mantel clocks. The first group used the No. 13 movement 8-day, time-only, stem wind and set that was better known as Waltham s 37-size car clock movement (see description below). It was a versatile thin movement allowing five winding configurations (bottom, top, side, front, and back). The second group used one of three movements (No. 10, 11, or 12) (see descriptions below). Waltham also manufactured a variety of full-size Willard, marine, and folding travel clocks containing various movements; these clocks will not be discussed in this article. For more information on full-size Willard clocks, read my two Bulletin articles: April 2003 (No. 343, page 157) and October 2008 (No. 376, page 528). Clock Movements No. 10: A chiming mantel clock movement, 8-day, three-train, 11-jewel with square hard-rolled thick brass plates, hardened brass wheels, hardened and polished tool steel pinions, a horizontally mounted double-roller escapement with a steel-cut expansion balance and sapphire pallet stones, Westminster chimes on quarters and strikes hours on a set of five special Waltham gongs. This movement is mounted in the large mantel clocks with typically tambour-style cases. No. 11: An hour-and half-hourstrike mantel clock movement, 8-day with two circular hardened thick brass plates, wheels, pinions, and a single roller horizontally mounted escapement with steel-cut expansion balance, separate time and strike spring-driven trains enclosed in brass barrels, and strikes hour and half hour on cathedral spiral steel gong (Figures 3a, 3b, and 3c). These movements have serial numbers beginning with 20,000 and were used in large mantel and Willard clocks. No. 12: A time-only mantel clock movement, 8-day with two circular hardened thick brass plates, wheels, Figure 2a, left. Large mantel with silvered dial. Figure 2b, right. Large mantel with door open showing movement and gong block. Figures 3a, 3b, and 3c, above and below. No. 11 movement. NAWCC Watch & Clock Bulletin March/April

3 Waltham Clock Co. catalogs provide excellent details on its clock offerings; original catalogs occasionally surface and I have acquired a few over the years. Fortunately, a few catalogs (particularly 1899, 1910, and 1922) have been reproduced and can be acquired at more reasonable prices than original ones. Figure 4. No. 13 movement. pinions, and single roller horizontally mounted escapement with steelcut expansion balance, time-only spring-driven train enclosed in brass barrel. These movements have serial numbers beginning with 30,000 and 50,000 and are used in large mantel, Willard, and marine clocks. No. 13: A small mantel time-only movement, 8-day stem wind and stem set 7-jewel, single roller escapement with steel-cut expansion balance, driven by two springs mounted in separate barrels that are wound through a single winding arbor that could be confirmed many ways. This was Waltham s 37-size car clock movement developed many years earlier by Waltham Watch Co.; a limited number of 15-jewel versions were produced and used in Waltham deck watches or in clocks at premium cost (Figure 4). These movements are numbered within standard watch production serial number blocks. There were two movement variations based on year of introduction (1906 and 1925); Waltham published movement part lists in their watch part catalogs. Figure 6a, right. Tambour clock with engraved dial. Figure 6b, far right. Engraved dial close-up. Pricing from the 1923 Waltham Clock Co. Catalog The small mantel clocks were priced at $25 with a plain dial and $30 with a radium dial; boudoir clocks were priced at $35 with a plain dial and $40 with a radium dial; mirror clocks were priced from $55 to $110, depending on case size, style, and finish with a plain dial and $10 more for a radium dial; wall clocks were priced from $40 to $45 with a plain dial and $10 more for a radium dial. The large mantel clocks were priced from $45 to $100, depending on the case style, dial, and movement selection; the No. 11 time and strike was $15 more expensive than the No. 12 time-only movement, and the engraved silver dial was $5 more than either silver or fired enamel dial. It is interesting that I have never observed any large mantel clocks containing the No. 12 time-only movement, although they were advertised in the catalog. However, as soon as I made that statement one will show up. Production and Survivability Waltham made significant quantities of the No. 13, 37-size car clock Figure 5. Large mantel clock with fired enamel dial. movement, but by 1920 their demand in automobiles had declined, so Waltham developed a series of small mantel, boudoir, and mirror clocks using them. These clocks appear to have been produced in reasonable quantities, because they often turn up on ebay or in marts. The case styles ranged from simple mahogany cases to elaborately carved and/or gilded cases that were designed to meet the changing art nouveau and art deco furniture fashions. I have observed a much wider variety of case styles on ebay than illustrated in Waltham catalogs; Waltham probably worked with its casemakers to develop case 174 March/April 2015 NAWCC Watch & Clock Bulletin

4 Figure 7, above. Small gilded boudoir clock. COURTESY OF SUSAN POLDEN. Figure 9, right. Larger wood case boudoir clock. COURTESY OF R.O. SCHMITT FINE ARTS. Figure 10a, above left. Mirror clock. COURTESY OF R.O. SCHMITT FINE ARTS (2). Figure 10b, above right. Mirror clock long winding arbor. Figure 8, above. Carved wood case boudoir clock. variations from basic designs based on Waltham salesmen s input. The movement s slim size (three-inch diameter and less than a half inch deep) made it a great candidate for use in these clock cases. Unfortunately, today the movements are rarely in running condition; the No. 13 (car clock movement) is a rugged movement, but it has three flaws. It was basically a large pocket watch movement that required more servicing than a typical springdriven 8-day clock over time; it had two mainspring barrels wound by a single winding arbor; if one spring lost power or broke, the clock would run only two to three days and the other spring might break, and the winding shaft (especially on clocks with long winding stems) could shear off where it entered the movement, rendering the movement almost unrepairable (Figure 10b), unless parts could be scavenged from another undamaged movement (Figures 1, 7, 8, 9, 10a, 10b, 11, and 12). Estimating production on the small mantel and boudoir clocks is difficult unless you disassembled and recorded serial numbers on each clock, because Waltham produced significant quantities of these movements in production blocks ranging from 500 to 2,500. The Waltham Gray Book that listed serial number blocks generally provided little details about where these movements were used. The car clock was Waltham s workhorse clock movement for these mantel and boudoir clocks; it was used in a variety of folding travel clocks and other desk clock variations (e.g., the unique double-dial partner s clock). The No. 10 movement (three-train Westminster chime on rods) was designed to compete with similar offerings by Seth Thomas, Waterbury, and others that were typically supplied in tambour case styles. Unfortunately, these clocks, along with black mantel clocks, have little appeal to most collectors unless the clock was Figure 11, far left. Rectangular case wood clock. COURTESY OF R.O. SCHMITT FINE ARTS. Figure 12, left. Gilded art deco case. COURTESY OF KATHY BUDOVSKY. NAWCC Watch & Clock Bulletin March/April

5 Figure 13, right. Elaborate tambour case clock Model owned by a family member and has a sentimental attraction. The other large mantel clocks containing the No. 11 time-and-strike movement featured a variety of mahogany cases ranging from simple Doric to elaborately carved cases. The movement was typically held in the case with two straps. Along with the movement was a heavy-duty steel spiral gong attached to a large solid brass gong block. Looking at the catalog, I was surprised to see the diversity of designs from a conservative company like Waltham. Unfortunately, they only very sporadically turn up at auctions, ebay, and regional marts and are most often in surprisingly good condition for clocks 85 to 95 years old. I have seen only about half of the clock models illustrated in Waltham s catalogs. Because they were one and a half to three times more expensive than the small mantel and boudoir clocks and more expensive than other spring-driven clocks in the marketplace, they must have been produced in smaller quantities (see Figures 5, 6a and 6b, 13, 14, and 15). Spending $75 for a clock in the 1920s was a lot of money; using the Consumer Price Index Calculator for inflation: $75 in 1923 equals $1,038 in It is possible to guesstimate their production; because Waltham set up a unique serial number block beginning with 20,000 for the No. 11 movement, and the highest serial number that I have observed to date was 23,728, Waltham probably manufactured less than 5,000 of these large mantel clocks. It is a shame that Figure 15. Decorated case mantel clock Model these clocks are overlooked and underappreciated by collectors, because they have nicely finished mahogany cases and a high-quality robust movement. Conclusion In 1925 Waltham Watch Co. was reorganized, and the separate Waltham Clock Co. was disbanded and merged into the company, but clock production continued unaffected by the company s structure changes. Mechanical clock production dropped significantly through the 1930s Depression; electric clock production increased slightly. At the start of World War II the company began producing 8-day military clocks for tanks and aircraft. Later, a smaller Figure 14. Colonial mantel clock No size aircraft clock was introduced and produced until the late 1980s for both military and civilian airplanes. I would appreciate hearing from Waltham Clock collectors on the model number and movement serial numbers of their large mantel clocks. Does anyone have a large mantel clock with a No. 12 time-only movement? Acknowledgments I thank David Beardsley, Kathy Budovsky, Chris and Christine Carey, Chris Den Herder, Susan Polden, Bud Steward, and R.O. Schmitt Fine Arts. About the Author The author joined the NAWCC in 1997 and found clock collecting fascinating. He has found researching the histories of various makers and companies as challenging and exciting as collecting. His principal collecting interest is weight-driven clocks from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He recently retired from DuPont Performance Coatings and spends some of his free time writing articles for the Watch & Clock Bulletin. 176 March/April 2015 NAWCC Watch & Clock Bulletin