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The Encyclopedia of Horology

Pocket watch · Open-face pocket watch

American Waltham Watch Co. 18k gold open face pocket watch

Partially verified

This American Waltham Watch Co. open face pocket watch is housed in a 49 mm 18k gold hinged case and accompanied by a short gold-toned chain with T-bar. According to the auction catalogue, it is powered by a heavily decorated keyless wind movement numbered 5000000, jewelled to the centre with screwed chatons, an overcoil hairspring, and fine adjustment. The white enamel dial exhibits black Roman numeral hour markers and a subsidiary seconds display at 6 o'clock. The source records that the inner cuvette bears an engraved presentation to company owner Royal E. Robbins (catalogued as Royal G. Robins) from company foremen dated March 1891.

Dial view of the American Waltham Watch Co. 18k gold open face pocket watch with attached chain and T-bar
Dial view of the American Waltham Watch Co. 18k gold open face pocket watch with attached chain and T-bar — Lyon & Turnbull. Rights pending — permission not yet requested. Original source

Catalogue identity

Source
www.lyonandturnbull.com
Category
Pocket watch · Open-face pocket watch
Maker / attribution
American Waltham Watch Co.
Reference
Not recorded
Catalogue / lot identifier
55
Source-reported date
March 1891
Source-reported place
United States
Source-reported serial
5000000

Source-reported attribution and specifications are not independent authentication. A listing does not establish present ownership, current display, availability or permission to reproduce.

Object description

Case and External Presentation

The timepiece is housed in an 18k gold hinged case measuring 49 mm in diameter. It is accompanied by a short gold-coloured chain with a bar.

The inner cuvette bears an engraved presentation to Royal G. Robins from company foremen, dated March 1891. Access to the internal case back or cuvette is not captured in the available imagery.

Evidence for this section
  • “18k gold Waltham hinged case”
  • “Diameter 49mm.”
  • “cuvette engraved ‘Presented to Royal G. Robins by the Foremen in the employ of The Amn Waltham Watch Co, March 1891’”
  • “With short gold-coloured chain and bar”

Dial Configuration

The watch features a white enamel dial with Roman numeral hour markers and outer railway track minute divisions. A subsidiary seconds register is located at 6 o'clock.

The dial is signed 'A.W.W.Co. WALTHAM, MASS.' below the 12 o'clock marker.

Evidence for this section
  • “white enamel dial with Roman numerals”
  • “subsidiary seconds”
  • “Dial signed 'A.W.W.Co. WALTHAM, MASS.' below the 12 o'clock marker”

Movement Specifications

The movement is described by the source as a keyless wind caliber numbered 5,000,000. It is described as heavily decorated and jewelled to the centre, featuring screwed chatons, an overcoil hairspring, and fine adjustment.

Internal movement details are not visible in the current photographic record.

Evidence for this section
  • “Movement No. 5000000”
  • “Heavily decorated keyless wind movement jewelled to the centre with screwed chatons, overcoil hairspring, fine adjustment”

Open research questions

  • Does the movement serial number 5,000,000 correspond to the March 1891 production date in official factory records?
  • Can the gold purity of the chain be independently verified as 18k?

Source evidence

Recorded claims and source quotations for American Waltham Watch Co. 18k gold open face pocket watch
FieldSource-reported valueSource quotation
Movement Number5000000“Movement No. 5000000”
Case Material18k gold“18k gold Waltham hinged case”
Diameter49mm“Diameter 49mm.”
Presentation InscriptionPresented to Royal G. Robins by the Foremen in the employ of The Amn Waltham Watch Co, March 1891“cuvette engraved ‘Presented to Royal G. Robins by the Foremen in the employ of The Amn Waltham Watch Co, March 1891’”
Included LiteratureTiming a Century by Charles W. Moore (1945) and 1946 correspondence“Accompanied by a book ‘Timing a Century, History of the Waltham Watch Company by Charles W.Moore’ dated 1945 and relevant letters dated 1946”

Visible details

  • White enamel dial with Roman numerals and outer railway track minute divisions
  • Subsidiary seconds register located at 6 o'clock
  • Dial signed 'A.W.W.Co. WALTHAM, MASS.' below the 12 o'clock marker
  • Fitted with a short gold-coloured link chain terminating in a T-bar

Research qualifications

  • Movement details and serial number 5000000 are not visible in the photograph and rely entirely on the auction description
  • Cuvette presentation inscription is concealed inside the case and cannot be independently confirmed from the primary image

Photograph identity and source facts were screened before import; rights clearance remains pending.

Consulted source

American Waltham Watch Co. A historically interesting 18k gold open face pocket watch Movement No. 5000000, presented to the company owner, Royal G. Robins in March 1891 | 22 May 2025

Reviewed 2026-10-22 · Record c7aab9c065

Terms in this record

Glossary explanations for terms named in this object’s record.

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