Howard - an engraving mystery?
Disclaimer - the disassembled pic is not my watch but is added just for those who might find it interesting, as is the Howard add for the original launch of this watch.
A little while ago I picked up this lovely little watch. It was inexpensive and had a few problems.
It is now running beautifully and keeping good time and really only needs a glass crystal fitting to be close to its original best.
Now while I really liked the watch, the dial design and its size in particular, what really made me pick it up was the engraving.
I haven’t been able to make any progress as to why it might have been engraved “USA” but the watch is from 1915 and it would seem possible to me that at some point thereafter somebody or a group of people with this watch were representing the USA whether in sports or as a trade or diplomatic delegation.
The engraving isn’t overly shouty and is fairly tasteful and discreet so it doesn’t seem to be “in your face” patriotism, though maybe there wasn’t much of that from genteel pocket watch wearers in that time? But I have seen watches from this time engraved prominently with the Stars and Stripes.
The engraving appears contemporaneous to the watch but it isn’t of the quality I would expect if Hamilton had done it at the factory and had been involved in producing a fair few of these.
So it remains a bit of a mystery to me but I pick it up from time to time hoping for some inspiration to hit. And in the meantime I have I nice movement to watch and an enduring puzzle.
Driven to watches (researching and collecting affordably) by the boredom of COVID lockdowns. My - possibly attainable - grail watch would be a 6245 (Seiko or Grand Seiko) in nice condition … someday.
Are you certain the engraving is USA? The first letter looks more like a J to my eyes
That’s a good looking pocket watch. Were you able to fix it yourself or did you have a pro work on it?
Also, the engraving looks like initials to me… jSa
Are you certain the engraving is USA? The first letter looks more like a J to my eyes
Thank you - you may well be right - I think my brain has always filled that space to the edge of the diamond cartouche as there is a deep scratch or a flourish engraved there and once I’d read it as USA I have simply reread it as a picture.
I can’t remember what the original listing said as it was a while ago but that might have directed my thinking too.
That’s a good looking pocket watch. Were you able to fix it yourself or did you have a pro work on it?
Also, the engraving looks like initials to me… jSa
Thank you - you may well be right on the initials - I think my brain has always filled that space to the edge of the diamond cartouche as there is a deep scratch or a flourish engraved there and once I’d read it as USA I have simply reread it as a picture.
I can’t remember what the original listing said as it was a while ago but that might have directed my thinking too.
On the watch itself nothing too tricky, I think it was overwound, as I am skills light but I will seek help for the crystal as they are fiddly.
What everyone is seeing as a "J" is simply a cut down "U" to conform to the parallelogram shape of the entire "USA" engraving.
Your watch was made in 1915-1916 and is a "Series 7." The company was sold to the Keystone Watchcase Company in 1903, which continued producing watches until 1930. They must have kept the Howard name.
Looks like a monogram for JAS to me. If the U was conformed to the diamond shape, I’d expect the left side to go all the way to the top, which it clearly doesn’t.
Ulysses Alan Schröder perhaps owned the watch…
Looks like a monogram for JAS to me. If the U was conformed to the diamond shape, I’d expect the left side to go all the way to the top, which it clearly doesn’t.
Or Jaime Augusta Santiago!
Definitely a mystery, but the JSA (or JAS) monogram theory I believe to be the most likely. That left part of the left-most letter definitely does not fill in the full shape like it would if it were a 'U'.
I have seen monograms in this style previously and the middle (and largest) initial is usually the surname.
So I believe it once belonged to a person with JAS as their actual initials & it's been stylized to accentuate the initial for their last, or surname.
Looks like a monogram for JAS to me. If the U was conformed to the diamond shape, I’d expect the left side to go all the way to the top, which it clearly doesn’t.
You could be right! We'll never know! 🍻
Definitely a mystery, but the JSA (or JAS) monogram theory I believe to be the most likely. That left part of the left-most letter definitely does not fill in the full shape like it would if it were a 'U'.
I have seen monograms in this style previously and the middle (and largest) initial is usually the surname.
So I believe it once belonged to a person with JAS as their actual initials & it's been stylized to accentuate the initial for their last, or surname.
I will concede that it could be "JAS."
Clearly it was hand-engraved, I think we can all agree on that, and by an amateur, as professional engraving even back then looked amazing.
Given the time-frame of the manufacture, it could have been used by an American during WW1 and the owner never finished the engraving due to his getting killed in combat.
What a mystery!
@minimums @UnholiestJedi
It could be a monogram, esp given the decoration around it. If it's true to form the first name starts with a U or a J, middle initial A, and last name an S. Depending on the area, you could see if any local records have references to those initials.
If it is a USA, it could have been a moment for someone traveling. As it wasn't uncommon for Americans abroad to have mementos on their travel. Or, it could have been a later added bit of patriotism given that WW1 was on the horizon.
I'd say your best bet would be the local area where the watch was found.
#pocketwatches