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The Encyclopedia of Horology

Serial-number guide

Hampden Watch Company Serial Numbers

Estimated

What a Hampden Watch Company serial number can establish, what it cannot, and how to record a date estimate another researcher could check.

Diagram

maker or gradeserialcase hallmarksimport and assay marks
Schematic: where markings are found. An outline schematic drawn to show the arrangement of the parts discussed here. It is not a dimensioned working drawing and does not depict a particular maker's calibre.

Method

Reading the number, step by step

  1. 1. Find the movement number

    The serial number is on the movement; Hampden watches, like other American-trade pocket watches, were frequently cased separately by independent casemakers, so a case number or case-maker's mark does not date the movement.

  2. 2. Understand what it encodes

    Hampden movement serial numbers are broadly sequential and, via published reconstructed tables, can suggest an approximate production era; grade names stamped on the movement carry additional specification information independent of the serial.

  3. 3. Judge how precise the date can be

    Estimated: published Hampden ranges are researcher reconstructions from partial surviving evidence, not a complete company ledger, and researchers themselves flag gaps in coverage.

  4. 4. Check the records behind the tables

    Hampden's own factory ledgers have not survived intact; NAWCC-affiliated researchers have reconstructed approximate serial-to-year ranges from surviving trade catalogues, advertisements and cross-referenced examples, in the same manner as other American factories whose original records are incomplete.

Quick facts

Manufacturer
Hampden Watch Company
Dating confidence
Estimate only — see notes
Editorial status
Estimated

Sources & references

  1. NAWCC published Hampden Watch Company resources
  2. Community-maintained Hampden serial lookup tables (reconstructions, not original factory ledgers)

Where sources disagree, the disagreement is stated rather than resolved silently.

Limits

What the number does not prove

Questions

Frequently asked

Where is the serial number on a Hampden Watch Company watch?
The serial number is on the movement; Hampden watches, like other American-trade pocket watches, were frequently cased separately by independent casemakers, so a case number or case-maker's mark does not date the movement.
What do Hampden Watch Company serial numbers mean?
Hampden movement serial numbers are broadly sequential and, via published reconstructed tables, can suggest an approximate production era; grade names stamped on the movement carry additional specification information independent of the serial.
How accurate is dating a Hampden Watch Company watch by serial number?
Estimated: published Hampden ranges are researcher reconstructions from partial surviving evidence, not a complete company ledger, and researchers themselves flag gaps in coverage.
Where are Hampden Watch Company production records held?
Hampden's own factory ledgers have not survived intact; NAWCC-affiliated researchers have reconstructed approximate serial-to-year ranges from surviving trade catalogues, advertisements and cross-referenced examples, in the same manner as other American factories whose original records are incomplete.

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