Hamilton’s Watch Case Maker’s Hallmarks/Brands/Trademarks

[Mugea]

Sometimes questions regarding hallmarks, brands and trademarks of Watch Case Makers are asked. So I thought, an overview could be helpful – arranged in alphabetical order of the Makers:

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Remarks / Explanations

Specific remarks

FUiC: = "First Use in Commerce" - a most important date in US trademark Law. In the US first usage of a brand will create trademark rights - contrary to most other countries, where the date of application is the important date. Advantage for collectors: in US trademark applications the FUiC date is given making it possible to date an object with the relating trademark.

Remarks regarding some Makers

Biggs: actually, the trademark shown is the only Biggs trademark I was able to find. But: this trademark was registered for jewelry for personal wear, not including watches. But as it shows the Biggs "B plus bee" I liked to show it anyway.


I. D. Watch Case Co., Inc. and Solidarity, respectively: that the most challenging discovery. There WAS the Solidarity Watch Case Company - but I don't know, how long. So I don't know, if the Hamiltons with the Solidarity brand were made by the original company or by I.D. Behind I.D. was Isidor Dinstman who collected Watch Case makers like others are collecting Watches:

https://vintagewatchforums.com/viewtopi ... man#p25871

So it could be, I.D. also took over the remainders of Solidarity. But this is just a hunch.


Pioneer: no trademark found – but the triangle/P is Pioneer’s hallmark. The key is this thread:

https://vintagewatchforums.com/viewtopi ... 074#p53074


There’s shown a case (of a Gruen?) having the triangle/P hallmark plus a US Patent Number 2,229,979 - and this patent belong to Pioneer. As I found nothing at all about Pioneer elsewhere, I took the data regarding name/Address from the patent.


Wallace: Honestly, I’m not certain, if Wallace was the maker of the Lord Lancaster S, as shown here:

https://www.vintagewatchforums.com/view ... 7&start=10

The W looks similar – but Wallace? I did not find any Wallace trademarks having anything to do with watches and watch cases. The trademark I found is for silver hollow and flat ware.


General remarks

I collected the trademark data from US trademark Certificates, i. e. the trademark itself, name and address of the owner and bibliographic data (Reg. Date, Reg. number, FUiC). Searching for old and lapsed US trademarks isn't that easy - helpful sites are:

http://historicip.com/trademarks/search.php

Brilliant site of a collector (of tools) who's great also in patent and trademark stuff. His site just is the best I'm aware of when it comes to very old US trademarks.


http://www.mikrolisk.de/show.php/280/letter_A

THE site when it comes to horological brands and trademarks - next to all are present, but some still are missing.


Nevertheless, I did not find all trademarks. The reason could be: there was no trademark or I simply missed it.

And if I missed a Case Maker: please advise.

Regards

Martin

[Nookster]

Great stuff. Here are some hand written notes from Hamilton on Case Makers from 1939

[pETE201]

Great list! One tiny omission, possibly, appeared only on the Electric Regulus II, was the case made by Fabrique de Boites la Centrale de Bienne (Central Watch Co)

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[Dave]

This is awesome.

I added the link to this thread to the Reference Links at the bottom of the Resource Center page so that it can readily found whenever it's needed.

[Nookster]

FROM CLUB 185 NAWCC

Wadsworth numeral system-Wadsworth-Hamilton Case Numbers History and Database


This should be reasonably accurate in dating most Wadsworth cases found on Hamilton movements produced from the mid-1920s until the end of Wadsworth case production. A simple grouping of numbers such as this can be expanded or updated and revised as additional information surfaces. But remember, what you see here only works for Wadsworth cases, so if your Hamilton movement is housed in any other make of case this list will not be of help. (See "Keystone-Hamilton Cases Year-By-Year" for Mainliner Elinvar, Case A, Case 11, Case 14 and Keystone Railroad 17 Database, images, descriptions, explanations and other information about those fascinating cases.)

Begin by looking up your Hamilton movement on the Hamilton Serial Number Listings Preserved by John F. Gelson then check the Wadsworth case numbers and years of production on this list for the one that comes closest to yours. If your movement and case are an original combination the years should then be a close or exact match.



WADSWORTH-HAMILTON CASE NUMBERS YEAR-BY-YEAR



1924 - 6900000


NOTE: The earliest "Crossbar" cases used a Wadsworth numbering system which changed by the following year.


1925 - 0100000

1926 - 0200000


NOTE: The marking "PAT'S PEND'G" was dropped at this point and "PAT 5-22-26" markings began.


1927 - 0300000

1928 - 0400000

1929 - 0500000


NOTE: Around 0500000 the case number layout had changed from straight line to a curved "v-shaped" formation.


1930 - 0550000

1931 - 0600000

1932 - 0650000

1933 - 0700000

1934 - 0750000

1935 - 0800000

1936 - 0900000

_________________________________________


H-PREFIX BEGAN AT H000001 IN 1937

NOTE: By now the case numbers were back to being in a straight line again. About this same time they restarted their numbering having them preceded by an "H" prefix, beginning with H000001 and continuing on both the Model 2 and Model 10 cases. The Case Model 8 was last shown in the 1936 Hamilton Catalog at which time they introduced the Model 10 case which would be kept in the line until it was phased-out during 1947 production.


1937 - H150000

1938 - H200000

1939 - H300000

1940 - H400000

1941 - H500000

1942 - H575000

1943 - H625000

1944 - H650000

1945 - H680000

1946 - H800000


NO PATENT DATES AFTER H800000 in 1946

NOTE: We have H799517 with the "PAT 5-22-26" patent date and H814140 which is blank in that area with NO PATENT DATE so it is likely the patent date was eliminated right around the approximately H800000 case number.


1947 - H900000

1948 - H999000


J-PREFIX BEGAN AT ABOUT J080000

NOTE: It is important to recognize that between the end of H-prefixes and beginning of J-prefixes during 1948 there were a series of 00-prefix numbers. Of course this often causes confusion but fortunately they had dropped the patent dates by this time so knowing that we can easily distinguish these cases from previous ones. These 00-prefix numbers run to around 0077500 or so, then it appears the first 0 was replaced with a "J" with J-prefix numbers taking over at around J080000 and continue through the end of Wadsworth production as shown below.




1949 - J200000

1950 - J275000

1951 - J350000

1952 - J375000

1953 - J400000