Research Methodology

Purpose and Scope

This website exists to document, reconstruct, and where possible clarify the production, distribution, and variation of Seth Thomas pocket watches. The focus is on movements and related material that are poorly documented, inconsistently described, or misunderstood in secondary sources. The work presented here is historical reconstruction based on surviving physical evidence and period documentation, not on factory mythology, repetition of received claims, or speculative extrapolation.

This research is cumulative and open-ended. Conclusions may be revised as additional primary evidence becomes available.

Nature of the Work

The research conducted for Seth Thomas Fan Space is closer in character to field archaeology or archival reconstruction than to catalog compilation. Much of the factory documentation for Seth Thomas pocket watch production is fragmentary, missing, or never existed in the form collectors would wish it had. As a result, this website relies heavily on the systematic examination of surviving artifacts and contemporaneous ephemera.

Patterns are inferred from what remains, not from assumptions about what should exist.

Primary Data Sources

The following sources form the core data set for this research:

• Direct physical examination of Seth Thomas pocket watch movements in the author’s possession

• High-resolution photographic examination of movements owned by others, when images are sufficiently clear and complete

• Factory-issued material catalogs and parts lists (e.g., early 20th-century Watch Material Catalogs)

• Period advertisements, trade literature, and retailer ephemera

• Surviving retail sales boxes, labels, and packaging

• Serial number observations gathered across multiple independent specimens

• Case markings and case–movement pairings, when original association is reasonably supported

This work would not exist without a small number of foundational external resources that made systematic inquiry possible, e.g.:

• Roy Ehrhardt’s American Numbered Drawings and associated identification of Seth Thomas private-label pocket watches

• The Pocket Watch Database, which enables comparative examination of large numbers of Seth Thomas movements organized by serial number, size, jewel count, and related attributes

• Seth Thomas Watches 1885–1915 by Chris H. Bailey, published by the American Clock & Watch Museum, which serves as the indispensable reference framework for Seth Thomas pocket watch history

No single source is treated as authoritative in isolation.

Data Collection and Recording

Serial numbers, plate markings, grade identifiers, private-label signatures, jewel counts, setting mechanisms, and regulator types are recorded directly from the movement whenever possible.

When lighting, wear, or photographic limitations prevent full certainty:

• Partial readings are explicitly noted as such

• Ambiguity is preserved rather than resolved by assumption

• Questionable digits or markings are flagged and revisited when better evidence becomes available

Non-numbered or minimally marked movements are recorded using a combination of physical characteristics rather than forced numerical classification.

Where possible, examined specimens are documented photographically and made publicly viewable through the Photo Albums by Model section of this website. This allows readers to inspect the same corpus of material examined for this research.

The photographic record is substantially complete but not yet exhaustive. Additional specimens and improved images continue to be added as material becomes available.

In many cases, the photographic record includes movements shown at multiple stages of disassembly undertaken during examination. These images document construction details, component variations, and manufacturing choices that are not visible in fully assembled movements and form part of the evidentiary basis for the analysis presented here.

Comparative and Pattern Analysis

Analysis is performed through comparison across known specimens rather than reliance on nominal production totals. Particular attention is paid to:

• Clustering of features within limited serial ranges

• Transitional characteristics that suggest short production runs or experimental variants

• Outliers that may indicate repair substitutions, private-label deviations, or undocumented factory practices

Small sample sizes are treated with caution, but they are not dismissed when the overall population is demonstrably small or poorly preserved.

Identification of Private-Label Entities

The identification of private-label contractors, independent jewelers, and retail shop owners frequently requires research beyond the horological record itself. In many cases, names appearing on movements, dials, or advertising material cannot be adequately understood without establishing the identity, location, and operating period of the individual or firm involved.

This work is conducted primarily through contemporaneous non-horological sources, e.g.:

• United States Census records

• City and business directories

• Period municipal and regional listings

These sources are used to confirm the existence, location, and time frame of private-label entities, to distinguish similarly named individuals or firms, and to avoid attributing movements to nonexistent or anachronistic businesses. Such contextual research is treated as supporting evidence and is not used to override physical or documentary evidence derived from the watches themselves.

Treatment of Uncertainty

Uncertainty is an expected and permanent feature of this work.

Language is chosen deliberately:

• Confirmed is used only when supported by direct, unambiguous evidence

• Likely indicates a conclusion supported by multiple independent indicators

• Possible denotes a hypothesis that fits the known data but lacks sufficient confirmation

Speculation is identified as such and never presented as fact.

Error Correction and Revision

Errors are inevitable in historical reconstruction. When identified:

• Corrections are made openly

• Revised interpretations supersede earlier ones without erasing the existence of prior conclusions

• Significant corrections are noted so that readers can understand how and why understanding has changed

The goal is accuracy, not consistency for its own sake.

Relationship to Standards of Evidence

All research on this website is conducted within the evidentiary framework described in the Standards of Evidence page. That document defines what is considered acceptable proof; this methodology describes how such proof is gathered, evaluated, and applied.

The two documents are intended to be read together.

Limits of the Work

This site does not claim to be exhaustive, definitive, or final. It represents one sustained effort to make sense of an incomplete historical record using transparent methods and clearly stated limits.

Readers are encouraged to question conclusions, examine the underlying evidence, and contribute additional primary material when available.