1904 Hermetic Sterling Silver 15 Jewel Black Dial "Dennison" Trench / WW1 watch, Hermetic Case
$1,292.00
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DetailsStop and think. 120 years young. This is how young this horological treasure is. what a testament to build quality. what stories this might hold that will never be told. If you are looking for an authentic Trench Watch from the WW1 time period, look no further. This is a great example of excellence.
What an incredible offering. How about an English Waltham Trench Watch with a rare shadow box military dial from the famous Dennison watch case manufacturing company. it is a rel treasure to find one that looks this fabulous. a lot of passion and love went into this restoration. An English made Trench Watch. Wow!
Movement: The movement is a 15 Jewel model 1900 Waltham grade, Os with a nickel finish that is sparkling with a patented regulator, is adjusted.
How about a little history lesson on British hallmarks, these hallmarks can reveal a lot about a watch?
Let’s review the Hallmarks
Lion: That is British Stamp for Sterling Silver 925 (92.5% pure silver, 7.5% copper)
Anchor: The assay office of Birmingham England
Upper Case “r” Year of 1917
The dial is stunning, it is a classic military shadow box with safe luminous material applied. The dial is porcelain which was common back the turn of last century.
What is unique about English Waltham WW1 Watches? Notice the dial says "Waltham USA" In the early days of wrist watches in the UK American watch manufacturers could not sell finished / assembled watches. There were large tariffs and taxes levied on watched imported to the UK, this was done to protect British watch companies. Movements were set to the UK and British case companies supplied the cases. Dennison was one of the premier manufacturers. They supplied cases to Rolex, Omega, Longones, Mappin, and many others. This case is 106 years young. It is called a "Hermetic" as the bezel and case back thread on and off, this was a more expensive case to manufacturer, but it also did a better job of keeping the elements out. This case style is highly coveted by collectors for it build quality, design and name, Dennison!
History about Trench Watches
What is a “Trench Watch” ?
They were created using 3/0 and 0 size pocket watch movements and installing into watch cases that were meant to worn on the wrist. The watch movement companies would send their movements to independent jewelers, who in turn would select the cases (as described below) to house the movement.
So the ordering process might go like this. A customer walks into a jeweler, with the help of the jeweler, the customer selects a 15 jeweled movement, then they go on to the case selection. The jeweler may recommend a higher end case manufactures like Depollier, and then it is the style of case as many manufactures had several different styles. Once a complete selection was made, the jeweler put it together and delivered the watch. That is how many Trench Watches (wrist watches) were born in the early 1900's.
The movements often came from women pocket watches because the wristwatch as we know was just being discovered. It is not uncommon to see various movements used in different cases, with various years. Remember the wristwatch was just being developed.
They often have some of the following characteristics:
Fixed or Wire Lug: No traditional spring bar attachment as found in today’s watches.
Case Material: Solid Gold / Sterling Silver (925) / Silverode or Gold Filled were used. (This case lid snaps snug on the case. This is important to note as many cases were badly damaged by their owners over the past 100 years. This watch case has been taken care of throughout its 100 years, it is in remarkable shape)
*For more practical purposes, a special alloy was developed which went by several different names, such as, "Silveroid, Silverore, Silverode or Silverine. "Silveroid" appears to have become the standard name for this metal that consisted of 45% nickel, 54% copper and 1% manganese. This metal was fairly hard wearing and could withstand the rigors of everyday use, for instance on the Railroads.
Case Manufactures: There were many case manufacturers that made cases for Trench Watches. Some of the more well know were: Dennison (English Manufacturer) Illinois (not affiliated with the Illinois Watch Company) J Depollier and Sons, Wadsworth, Fahys, Philadelphia, Fortune and many more
WW1 was 1914 to 1918, that is the time frame of many Trench Watches.
One of my favorite trench watch cases from WWI were made by J. Depollier & Son and the English case maker Dennision.. These cases had high quality manufacturing details that made them some of the best of their day Dennison cases were available in Nickel, Sterling Silver, 14k Solid Gold, 18k Solid Gold. Dennison ha d a relationship with Omega, Rolex, Waltham to name a few.
This movement was made in 1900. The ALD case company was considered on of the best watch case manufactures in the watch world. This case is no exception.
This is the rare highly sought after case. The “Hermetic” design was more expensive to manufacturer; it did a better job of keeping the elements out of the watch. This case is much heavier in sterling silver than many cases from the same time period. This was a more expensive design feature than many cases of that era.
The solid sterling silver case is an oversized Trench Watch case relative to many others. It measures as follows:
35.5MM wide, without the crown, 41MM with the beautiful brass colored pumpkin crown
The watch band is a brand new Dark Brown Padded Leather 12MM opened ended band with a stainless steel tang buckle.
The grade 115 has recently been cleaned and overhauled. It keeps time beautifully, It has had a dial and hand restoration.
The dial and hands were refinished to their original status
The watch movement has had a comprehensive mechanical teardown service December 2024
The case was gently refinished to highlight the knurled bezel and case back, the sterling silver was hand polished.
American Waltham Watch Co.
Grade: No. 115
Manufacturer: Waltham
Manufacturer Location: Waltham, Massachusetts
American Waltham Watch Co.
Grade: 115
Manufacturer: Waltham
Manufacturer Location: Waltham, Massachusetts
Movement Serial Number: 14219074
Grade: 115
Model: 1900
Estimated Production Year: 1904
Run Quantity: 3,500
Grade/Model Total Production: 214,922
Size: 0s
Jewels: 15 Jewel
Movement Configuration: Hunting
Movement Setting: Pendant
Regulator: Patent
Hairspring: Breguet
Adjusted: Yes
Railroad Grade: No
This watch originated from the UK, that is where I acquired it. I like to offer some unusual timepieces and think this one qualifies. This about his for a moment.
This is an American Watch company who partnered with the ALD (Dennsion) watch case company to supply watch cases for their movements in the UK. ALD already had a great reputation for high quality, now they were partnering with Waltham to bring England an alternative their watches. It was marriage between Dennsion and Waltham that lasted for many years
Please use the pictures as part of the description, ask as many questions as you would like. I am happy to send more pictures of add clarity that you may need
As you can tell from some of my reviews, I am invested in my customers; you are much more than a transaction. Please keep in mind that I put every watch through a 48 hour mild stress test before I ship, that way I know 100% that it is operational. In rare cases that a complication occurs, I will keep you informed. -
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