While only two of the pocket watch cases described below are uniquely Seth Thomas products, it is important for Seth Thomas pocket watch collectors to have a general understanding of the various pocket watch cases that may hold, protect, and compliment the ability to effectively use or display their pocket watches. Below are illustrations of the types of pocket watch cases that you will most frequently encounter, and examples of associated pocket watch case components that you may frequently need to replace or repair in the course of your involvement with Seth Thomas pocket watches. Please take some time to read through the 1900 Benjamin Allen & Company Catalog pages below to become familiar with the names and functions of the components shown. It will help to speed up and solidify your self-confidence in working with the components.
The Pocket Watch Database provides an excellent Watch Case Identifier tool to help you figure out which watch case you are looking at when you need help figuring that out. As always the Pocket Watch Database is there for you when you need more information about an American pocket watch, its dial, its hands, and so much in-depth background information on the watch movement. It’s an amazing resource and there is a link at the top right-hand side of the screen on every page of the Seth Thomas Fan Space.
Open-Face Hinged Back and Bezel Case
The Hinged Back and Bezel pocket watch case is a classic open-face case, beautiful and eminently functional. It’s hinged bezel with a very thick crystal provides reliable protection of the dial and hands and is sturdy enough to tolerate frequent opening to access the setting lever.
This 1894-1901 Seth Thomas open-face 18-size Model 6 pocket watch was manufactured with a gilt-damaskeened finished 3/4 plate, 11 jewels, and it is non-adjusted. The movement is stem wound and lever set, with a flat hair spring and simple/plain regulator. Its serial number is 604869, and its grade is Seth Thomas numbered grade 106. The private label movement is signed “Montgomery Ward Chicago “20th Century””.
The movement presents with an 18-size private label "“20th Century"" Arabic dial with a ring minute track and black five-minute marginals, fitted with Seth Thomas #1281 blued spade hands 18-size. Montgomery Ward "20th Century" is a private label in Seth Thomas Model 6, Model 7, Model 8, and Model 9.
The movement is cased in an 18-size Bay State 3 oz. Coin Silver open-face Imperial watch case with hinged front and back with floral engraving, serial number 113824, manufactured in 1894.
Open-Face Hinged Back and Bezel Case for Key Set Movements
The Hinged Back and Bezel pocket watch case for Key Set movements is a classic open-face case, beautiful and eminently functional. It’s hinged bezel with a very thick crystal provides reliable protection of the dial and hands and is sturdy enough to tolerate frequent opening to permit using your key to set the time.
This 1887-1888 Seth Thomas convertible 18-size Model 4 pocket watch was manufactured with a gilt finished 3/4 plate, 7 jewels, and it is non-adjusted. The movement is key wound and key set, with a flat hair spring, and plain/simple regulator. Its serial number is 35062, and its grade is Seth Thomas numbered grade 11. The movement is signed “Seth Thomas Thomaston, Conn.”. This is the 62nd Seth Thomas Model 4 pocket watch produced. Model 4 serial numbers started at 35001 and concluded at 718400.
The movement presents with an 18-size unsigned Roman dial with a ring minute track and no marginals. It is fitted with Seth Thomas #1291 blued spade hands for key-wound only, 18-size.
The movement is presently cased in an open-face 18-size Stirling Silver pocket watch case, of unknown manufacturer, with screw back and bezel. The case’s serial number is 98340.
Because the Model 4 movements were key-wound and key-set; there was no winding bridge and pinion or any of the other mechanical systems that were present in the stem-wound and lever-set movements of the day. Because the key-wound and key-set movements did not need to depend on accepting a watch case’s stem; they could be cased in either the hunting or the open-face configuration. Model 4 serial number 35843 is shown above, cased in the open-face configuration while Model 4 serial number 57617 is shown cased in the hunting configuration.
Model 4 serial number 35843 is shown above without the winding cup, and Model 4 serial number 57617 is shown with the winding cup. Many of the early movements, without the winding cup, show a degree of damage to the top plate from being wound without a cup present for protection.
Model 4 movements were made with only 1 casing screw, at the VI o’clock position, to hold the movement in the case; but there is also a small brass pin protruding from the side of the perimeter of the movement, at the XI o’clock position, which matches a notch on the inside of the special open-face watch cases made for key wound movements. Inserting the brass pin into this notch helps to stabilize the movement in the open-face orientation in the case. There is also a special notch in the special hunting watch case, at two o’clock position, to help stabilize the movement in the hunting case orientation. Because there is no winding stem orientation to consider Model 4 is adaptable to either open-face or hunting case orientation.
Hinged Back and Front Hunting Case
The Hinged Back and Front Hunting pocket watch case is a classic, beautiful and eminently functional watch case. It’s hinged front cover protects the bezel, which equipped with a very thin and delicate crystal. The bezel usually snaps on and off; but some are hinged. The bezel is notched at the five o’clock position so that it does not need to be removed to access the setting lever. The back cover and subsequent dust cover protect the movement while still permitting easy access.
This 1888-1889 Seth Thomas 18-size hunting Model 2 pocket watch was manufactured with a nickel finished divided 3/4 plate, 17 jewels, and it is adjusted. The movement is stem wound and lever set, with a Higginbotham hairspring stud, Breguet hair spring, and micrometric regulator. Its serial number is 55034, and its grade is Seth Thomas named grade Henry Molineux. This is the 34th Model 2 Henry Molineux grade pocket watch manufactured by Seth Thomas. The lowest Henry Molineux serial number that I have seen is 54999 and that was a Model 3. The movement is signed “Henry Molineux”.
The movement presents with an 18-size double-sunk Seth Thomas #1228 Roman dial with a ring minute track and red five-minute marginals. It is fitted with Seth Thomas #1284 blued Fleur-de-Lis hands, 18-size.
The movement is cased in an open-face 18-size 14k gold-filled, 20-year Crescent Watch Case Company hunting pocket watch case with hinged back and front covers. The case’s serial number is 137968.
Hunting Case for Key Set Pocket Watch Movements
The Hinged Back and Front Hunting pocket watch case for Key Set movements is a classic, beautiful and eminently functional watch case. It’s hinged front cover protects the bezel, which equipped with a very thin and delicate crystal. The bezel usually snaps on and off; but some are hinged. The bezel is notched at the five o’clock position so that it does not need to be removed to access the setting lever. The back cover and subsequent dust cover protect the movement while still permitting easy access.
This 1887-1888 Seth Thomas convertible 18-size Model 4 pocket watch was manufactured with a gilt finished 3/4 plate, 7 jewels, and it is non-adjusted. The movement is key wound and key set, with a flat hair spring and simple/plain regulator. Its serial number is 509822, and its grade is Seth Thomas numbered grade 11. The movement is signed “Seth Thomas Thomaston, Conn.”.
The movement presents with an 18-size unsigned Roman dial with a ring minute track and no marginals. It is fitted with Seth Thomas #1291 blued spade hands for key-wound only, 18-size.
The movement is cased in an 18-size Keystone Watch Case Company, 14K gold-filled, Keystone Boss Scale Crown, serial number O330109.
Screw Back and Bezel Case
The Screw Back and Bezel pocket watch case has been a popular open-face case in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. It’s threaded bezel with a very thick crystal provides reliable protection of the dial and hands and is sturdy enough to tolerate frequent opening to access the setting lever.
This 1898 Seth Thomas open-face 18-size Model 12 pocket watch was manufactured with a nickel finished 3/4 plate, 7 jewels, and it is non-adjusted. The movement is stem wound and lever set, with a flat hair spring and simple/plain regulator. Its serial number is 1031288, and its grade is Seth Thomas named grade Century. The private label movement is signed “Edgemere Chicago, Ill. ”.
The movement presents with an 18-size private label "Edgemere U.S.A.” Roman dial with a ring minute track and black five-minute marginals, fitted with Seth Thomas #1281 blued spade hands 18-size. Edgemere is a private label in Seth Thomas Model 8, Model 9, Model 12, Model 13, Model 16, and Model 17.
The movement is cased in an 18-size Dueber Watch Case Company open-face Silverine (nickel) watch case with screw back and bezel, serial number 91941.
Snap Back and Screw Bezel Case
It is easy to identify which 16-size Centennial grade movements were deployed within the ranks of leather-cased Tourist travel timepieces, despite their being separated from their leather stand/case. The 16-size Centennials that were used in the Tourist travel timepiece had a conversion dial that placed the winding stem at 6:00. They also had a Nickel Silver case that had a snap back cover and a screw bezel. The bezel was slightly larger than the case body and its threads left a small gap in which it could gain a grip on the leather case that it overlapped. Other differences in the watch case were a squared pendant without any attachment points for a bow, and the lack of a bow. There are no photographs that are publicly available of the 16-size Tourist travel timepiece in its leather case/stand.
The Snap Back and Screw Bezel pocket watch case is not a commonly encountered open-face case. It remains unclear why this style of watch case was chosen for use in the 16-size Tourist travel timepieces and not in the 12-size Tourist. The snap back required the use of a case opening tool to remove it. There was little reason to remove the 16-size Seth Thomas movements from their pocket-sized leather stand/case. They were all pendant set; so the bezel did not have to be removed to set the time, and because there was no bow it would have been risky to carry the 16-size Tourist in a pocket without its leather case.
This 1910-1913 Seth Thomas 16-size open-face Model 21 pocket watch was manufactured with a nickel finished 3/4 plate, 7 jewels, and it is non-adjusted. The movement is stem wound and pendant set, with a Breguet hair spring, and plain/simple regulator. Its serial number is 1307698, and its grade is Seth Thomas named grade Centennial. The movement is signed “Seth Thomas Centennial Thomaston, Conn.”.
The movement presents with a special Tourist 16-size Seth Thomas Arabic conversion dial with a hash marks minute track and no marginals, fitted with Seth Thomas blued spade hands 16-size. This dial converts the appearance of the movement to look like an up-side-down open-face movement with the winding stem at the 6:00 o’clock position for use in the Seth Thomas Tourist travel timepiece. Dial feet are placed at approximately 5 minutes, 16 minutes, and 43 minutes; placing the pendant at 6:00 instead of 12:00.
The movement is cased in a 16-size Illinois Watch Case Company Nickel Silver (nickel) watch case with a snap back cover and special screw bezel made specifically for the Seth Thomas Tourist 16 with a special stem to be permanently mounted into a leather case; and special bezel to screw down over and onto the leather carrying case. The serial number is 076012.
Hinged Back and Snap Bezel Case
The Hinged Back and Snap Bezel pocket watch case is frequently encountered for the open-face 6-size Pendant Model 24 movements. Many of these 6-size movements were marketed as 4-size movements; but in reality, they have a “snug dial” with a smaller seconds bit, and a compact case that together create the illusion that it is a 4-size movement. More details on this topic can be seen in the Pocket Watch Sizes section of the Seth Thomas Fan Space.
This 1913 Seth Thomas 6-size open-face Model 24 pocket watch was manufactured with a nickel finished 3/4 plate, 7 jewels, and it is non-adjusted. The movement is stem wound and pendant set, with a Breguet hair spring, and plain/simple regulator. Its serial number is 3091193, and its grade is Seth Thomas numbered grade 320. The movement is signed “Seth Thomas Thomaston, Conn.”.
The movement is cased in a 6-size Illinois Watch Case Company 20-year gold-filled "Winner" hunting watch case, serial number 2792720.
The movement presents with a 6-size Seth Thomas #1202 Arabic snug dial with a hash-marks minute ring and red five-minute marginals, fitted with Seth Thomas #1271 blued spade hands 6-size.
Swing-Out Case
The Swing-Out pocket watch case was designed as a dust-proof open-face pocket watch case. There is no back cover to remove or to let dust into the mechanism, just a solid case shell from the bezel back. The bezel screws off to permit operation of the setting lever, or to swing the movement out of its seat. The movement sits in a hinged ring that can be pried into its swinging mode after pulling up on the crown to disengage the winding stem from the mechanism.
This 1913 Seth Thomas open-face 18-size Model 5 pocket watch was manufactured with a two-tone finished full plate, 17 jewels, and it is adjusted to five positions. The movement is stem wound and lever set, with a Breguet hair spring, and micrometric regulator. Its serial number is 350071, and its marked grade is Seth Thomas numbered grade 382. The movement is signed “Seth Thomas Thomaston, Conn.”.
The movement presents with an 18-size Seth Thomas #1241 Roman Canadian dial with red 24-hour numerals and a hash marks minute track with no marginals, fitted with Seth Thomas #1291 blued spade & whip railroad hands 18-size.
The movement is cased in an 18-size Crescent Watch Case Company Coin Silver swing-out open-face watch case, serial number 211. Pat Nine 9 1885.
Paired Case
The Paired open-face pocket watch case is a delight to behold, beautiful and eminently functional. The bezel is hinged from the outer case providing easy access to the setting lever. Having removed the inner case access to the movement is gained by swinging the hinged back cover open. The case is shown below as marketed by the Chicago wholesale house, Lapp & Flershem, the “Busiest House in America” in their 1887 Illustrated Catalogue.
This 1885 Seth Thomas open-face 18-size Model 1 pocket watch was manufactured with a gilt finished 3/4 plate, 11 jewels, and it is non-adjusted. The movement is stem wound and lever set, with a flat hair spring and simple/plain regulator. Its serial number is 94, and its grade is Seth Thomas numbered grade 44. This is a slow train movement and a single patent, Jan. 13, 85, is engraved on the movement in one line. This early specimen of Model 1 was made with only 1 casing screw across from the stem holding the movement securely in the case. The movement is signed “Seth Thomas Thomaston, Conn.”. This is the 94th Seth Thomas pocket watch produced. Model 1 serial numbers started at 1 and concluded at 10900.
This Model 1 movement has been supplemented with materials from Model 3 parts movements; the balance bridge and screw, hairspring, balance wheel, fork, one pillar screw, and the hour wheel. A proper hour wheel and minute wheel are still missing.
The movement presents with an 18-size Seth Thomas Roman dial with a ring minute track and no marginals. It is fitted with Seth Thomas #1281 blued spade hands, 18-size.
The movement is cased in an open-face 18-size Fahys Watch Case Company Oresilver (nickel) pocket watch case with hinged back and bezel. The case’s serial number is R380.
Hinged Paired Case
The open-face Hinged Paired pocket watch case is a delight to behold, beautiful and eminently functional. The bezel is hinged from the outer case providing easy access to the setting lever. With the bezel hinged open it is possible to swing the inner case out of the outer case, and to swing the inner cases’ back cover open to expose the mechanism.
This 1894-1901 Seth Thomas open-face 18-size Model 6 pocket watch was manufactured with a gilt-damaskeened finished 3/4 plate, 11 jewels, and it is non-adjusted. The movement is stem wound and lever set, with a flat hair spring and simple/plain regulator. Its serial number is 644947, and its grade is Seth Thomas numbered grade 106. The private label movement is signed “Montgomery Ward Chicago “20th Century””.
The movement presents with an 18-size private label "“20th Century"" Arabic dial with a ring minute track and black five-minute marginals, fitted with Seth Thomas #1281 blued spade hands 18-size. Montgomery Ward "20th Century" is a private label in Seth Thomas Model 6, Model 7, Model 8, and Model 9.
The movement is cased in a Fahys Watch Case Company Coin Silver open-face compound swing out double watch case with hinged back and bezel, serial number 9386.
Hinged Paired Case for Key Set Pocket Watch Movements
The open-face Hinged Paired pocket watch case for Key Set movements is a delight to behold, beautiful and eminently functional. The bezel is hinged from the outer case providing easy access to the setting lever. With the bezel hinged open it is possible to swing the inner case out of the outer case, and to swing the inner cases’ back cover open to expose the mechanism.
This 1887-1888 Seth Thomas convertible 18-size Model 4 pocket watch was manufactured with a gilt finished 3/4 plate, 7 jewels, and it is non-adjusted. The movement is stem wound and lever set, with a flat hair spring and micrometric regulator. Its serial number is 35960, and its grade is Seth Thomas numbered grade 11. The movement is signed “Seth Thomas Thomaston, Conn.”.
The movement presents with an 18-size Seth Thomas Roman dial with a ring minute track and no marginals. It is fitted with Seth Thomas #1291 blued spade hands for key-wound only, 18-size.
The movement is cased in an open-face 18-size Fahys Watch Case Company, Fahys Coin No1, with Coin Groove Around Bezel, serial number N1664.
Companion - Travel Timepiece - Metal and Leather Case
This 1894-1901 Seth Thomas open-face 18-size Model 6 pocket watch was manufactured with a nickel finished 3/4 plate, 7 jewels, and it is non-adjusted. The movement is stem wound and pin set, with a flat hair spring, and plain/simple regulator. Its serial number is 599805, and its grade is Seth Thomas numbered grade 36. The special Companion movement is unsigned. This movement was specially manufactured for use in the Seth Thomas Companion, a travel timepiece that consisted of a pin set pocket watch movement cased in a small bronze block for use on a desk or nightstand.
The movement presents with an 18-size Seth Thomas #1222 Heavy Roman flat dial with a ring minute track and no marginals or seconds bit; fitted with Seth Thomas #1281 blued spade hands 18-size.
The movement is cased in a leather covered bronze block Companion case. With heavy hands and a heavy dial, the Companion is able to be read across an average size room.
Traveler - Key Wound Travel Timepiece - Metal & Leather Case
Model 4 movements were used in a little known Seth Thomas travel timepiece named the Traveler, which was only manufactured from 1906 to 1907. It can be seen in the 1915 advertisement below. The Traveler was not a clock, just as its close cousin, the Companion, was not a clock. Two cuts of the Traveler were utilized, one with a seconds bit and one without a seconds bit, while only two cuts were ever produced for the more prolific Companion travel timepiece base on the Model 6 in 1896 for which one cut was produced, upgraded ten years later with the Model 8 movement in 1906 for which the other cut was made, and was sold until Seth Thomas pocket watch sales ceased in 1915. While the Traveler (3.5 inches high) is a tiny bit larger than the Companion (2.25 inches high without the crown, and 2.67 inches high with the crown), the easiest way to tell which one you’re looking at is that the Traveler has no crown to wind it, and no setting pin on the left side to set the time; because the Model 4 Traveler was key-wound and key-set.
Above are advertisements for Seth Thomas clocks on Page 777 and Page 778 from an unidentified 1915 magazine or catalog.
In the upper right hand corner of Page 777 is an image of the 1906-1907 Model 4 Traveler travel timepiece, a key-wound and key-set pocket watch cased in a leather covered bronze block; slightly larger than the Model 8 Companion travel timepiece. The images of clocks are 1904-1913 Seth Thomas Metal Novelty Mantel Clocks. They include the 1913 Cherubs, Bona, 1908 Natty, 1908 Prim, 1913 Dainty, 1913 Petite, the 1906 School Girl, the 1908 Bouquet, the 1905 Bungalow, the 1913 Jacket, and the 1904 Night Clock B.
Tourist - Travel Timepiece - Leather Case
Within the 12-size Seth Thomas Model 22 the movements are all marked “Centennial” and have 7 jewels. They are all Centennial Grade. It is not possible to know which 12-size Centennials were deployed within the ranks of the leather-cased Tourist travel timepieces unless they are still paired with the leather Tourist case/stand. Inside the leather case/stand the 12-size Tourist movements were cased normally like any other 12-size Centennial Model 22 pocket watch. There are no photographs that are publicly available of the 12-size Tourist travel timepiece in its leather Tourist case/stand. They could readily be removed from the leather case and be used as a standard conventional pocket watch.
This 1913 Seth Thomas 12-size hunting Model 22 pocket watch was manufactured with a nickel finished 3/4 plate, 7 jewels, and it is non-adjusted. The movement is stem wound and pendant set, with a Breguet hair spring, and plain/simple regulator. Its serial number is 3280055, and its grade is Seth Thomas named grade Centennial. The movement is signed “Seth Thomas Centennial Thomaston, Conn.”.
The movement presents with a 12-size Seth Thomas Arabic dial with a hash marks minute track and red five-minute marginals, fitted with Seth Thomas #1277 blued spade hands 12-size.
The watch is cased in a 12-size Illinois Watch Case Company open-face Nickel Silver (nickel) watch case with screw back and bezel, serial number 120870.
It is easy to identify which 16-size Centennial grade movements were deployed within the ranks of leather-cased Tourist travel timepieces, despite their being separated from their leather stand/case. The 16-size Centennials that were used in the Tourist travel timepiece had a conversion dial that placed the winding stem at 6:00. They also had a Nickel Silver case that had a snap back cover and a screw bezel. The bezel was slightly larger than the case body and its threads left a small gap in which it could gain a grip on the leather case that it overlapped. Other differences in the watch case were a squared pendant without any attachment points for a bow, and the lack of a bow. There are no photographs that are publicly available of the 16-size Tourist travel timepiece in its leather case/stand.
This 1910-1913 Seth Thomas 16-size open-face Model 21 pocket watch was manufactured with a nickel finished 3/4 plate, 7 jewels, and it is non-adjusted. The movement is stem wound and pendant set, with a Breguet hair spring, and plain/simple regulator. Its serial number is 1307698, and its grade is Seth Thomas named grade Centennial. The movement is signed “Seth Thomas Centennial Thomaston, Conn.”.
The movement presents with a special Tourist 16-size Seth Thomas Arabic conversion dial with a hash marks minute track and no marginals, fitted with Seth Thomas blued spade hands 16-size. This dial converts the appearance of the movement to look like an up-side-down open-face movement with the winding stem at the 6:00 o’clock position for use in the Seth Thomas Tourist travel timepiece. Dial feet are placed at approximately 5 minutes, 16 minutes, and 43 minutes; placing the pendant at 6:00 instead of 12:00.
The movement is cased in a 16-size Illinois Watch Case Company Nickel Silver (nickel) watch case with a snap back cover and special screw bezel made specifically for the Seth Thomas Tourist 16 with a special stem to be permanently mounted into a leather case; and special bezel to screw down over and onto the leather carrying case. The serial number is 076012..
