Waltham Railroad-Grade Movements (Vanguard and related grades)

Background

In 1866 the Pennsylvania Railroad ordered Model 1857 Appleton, Tracy & Co. grade 15-jewel watches from the American Watch Company, which RailsWest describes as the first American watches made specifically for railroad use. The Model 1870 Crescent Street, an 18-size, 15-jewel movement with a chronometer balance adjusted to heat and cold, was the first American watch designed and marketed especially as a railroad watch. It took its name from the street in Waltham where the company's factory stood, and it was advertised from 1870 as the American Railroad Watch.

The Model 1870 was made until September 1883, with a total production of 17,900 movements, and the 18-size Model 1883 Crescent Street replaced it in 1885 as Waltham's highest-grade full-plate watch. In 1894 the American Waltham Watch Co. introduced the 18-size, 17-jewel Vanguard, advertised as the finest 18-size movement in the world; as other grades were added, the model became known as the Model 1892.

Written from the sources listed under Sources (makers, museums, auction houses and specialist publications are paraphrased, not reproduced); each statement was checked against the cited text, and claims a maker makes about its own work are attributed to it.