Dueber Pocket Watch Case Serial Numbers



Also called: Dueber-Hampden Watch Company

Including Dueber-Hampden Watch Serial Numbers and Production Dates

But he had no identification on him – except a Dueber-Hampden pocket watch serial number 3039347. Cunard Line officials were able to trace the man’s identity by contacting Dueber-Hampden in Canton, who were able to tell them who purchased the watch. The serial number.

  1. Pocket Watch Serial Number Lookup - Hamilton, South Bend, Illinois, Rockford, Waltham & Elgin Pocket Watches Serial Number. The Dueber Watch Case Company was an important employer in Canton.
  2. Swiss watches bearing the name “Hampden” are distributed by the Hampton Watch Co. Of Chicago who acquired the right to use the name in 1939 but have no other relationship to the old company. No serial number list is available for Hampden watches. Watches bearing the following names are also Hampden watches. Molly Stark Dueber Watch Co.

Springfield, Mass then Canton, Ohio

1877 - 1930

Donald J. Mozart produced his three-wheel watch in 1864, and with the assistance of Samuel Rice formed the New York Watch Company in 1866 in Providence, Rhode Island. It was moved to Springfield, Massachusetts in 1867 and two grades of watches were produced. The company started with an 18s 3/4 plate model signed 'Springfield.' and a 16s 3/4 plate 'State Street' model that featured steel parts and gold-plated balance and escape wheels. The company became the Hampden Watch Company in 1877.

Dueber-Hampden Advertisement

John C. Dueber had been manufacturing watch cases since 1864 and bought controlling interest in a case company in about 1886. At about this time an anti-trust law was passed and the watch case manufacturers formed a boycott against Dueber. In order to remain in business, Dueber bought the Hampden Watch Co. in Springfield in 1888, then moved it to Canton. By 1890, the company was producing 600 watches a day, had 1000 employees, and possessed net assets of $2,600,000. Hampden produced some very fine quality watches, and introduced the first 16 size, 23 jewel movement made in America.

Dueber controlled all aspects of the company from manufacturing to sales. Dueber sold the company to Walter Vrettman in 1925. Vrettman went bankrupt in 1927 and sold all of the company's equipment to Amtorg, a Russian purchasing company. Nearly 30 boxcars of machinery left Canton in 1931 with 21 former Dueber Hampden employees who contracted for one year to teach the Russians the craft of watchmaking. Conflicting information exists about the fate of the Russian enterprise, but Henry Fried, a horology professor at New York University, reported seeing Dueber-Hampden machinery being used in China in 1986.

Hampden / Dueber Watch Company

Total Production: Approx. 4.6 Million Watches

YearS/N
187759,000
187870,000
1879100,000
1880140,000
1881180,000
1882215,000
1883250,000
1884300,000
1885350,000
1886400,000
1887480,000
1888560,000
1889640,000
1890740,000
1891805,000
1892835,000
1893865,000
1894900,000
YearS/N
1895930,000
1896970,000
18971,000,000
18981,120,000
18991,255,000
19001,384,000
19011,512,000
19021,642,000
19031,768,000
19041,896,000
19052,024,000
19062,152,000
19072,280,000
19082,400,000
19092,520,000
19102,650,000
19112,700,000
19122,760,000
YearS/N
19132,850,000
19142,920,000
19153,000,000
19163,100,000
19173,240,000
19183,390,000
19193,500,000
19203,600,000
19213,700,000
19223,750,000
19233,800,000
19243,850,000
19253,900,000
19263,950,000
19273,980,000
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Be sure to use the serial number on the movement (the works) of the watch. Do not use the serial number from the watch case.

Can’t find your serial number in the table? Click here for an explanation and example of how to use our serial number tables.

Need help finding the serial number on your watch? Click here for instructions on how to identify and open most common case types.

At Renaissance Watch Repair, we are experts in the repair and restoration of Dueber and Hampden watches. Please contact us if you have any questions about the repair of your vintage Hampden watch.

Instructions for using our serial number look-up tables

This page contains INSTRUCTIONS for using the serial number look-up tables that are found on many of our watch company history pages. The example below uses information from the American Waltham Watch Company, but that is just an example. You should consult the serial number table for the specific brand of watch movement you are trying to date by selecting a company from the menu on the left.

Not all vintage watches can be dated using the serial number. Some American watch brands did not use a consistent series of serial numbers, but most of the big manufacturers did. Most vintage Swiss pocket watches did NOT have serial numbers and can't be dated by this method.

Can't find YOUR exact serial number in our lookup tables?

Many watch companies made hundreds of thousands of watches, and some companies made millions of watches! It would be impractical to list the individual serial numbers of EVERY watch made... that would make some really long pages! Our serial number tables list RANGES of serial numbers. So to determine when your watch was manufactured, you will need to find where your serial number fits within the range of numbers.

Serial number look-up example:

Let's say you have a Waltham watch with serial number 21,607,210 as shown in the photo below. Note that we're using the serial number from the watch movement, not from the watch case. Looking at the table of Waltham serial numbers (see example below), you can see that number 20,900,000 was made in 1917 and 21,800,000 was made in 1918 (marked in red in the table below). Since your serial number falls between those two numbers, you know that your watch was made in 1917 or 1918.

Not sure which serial number to use?

You must use the serial number from the MOVEMENT of the watch... the working part with the wheels and gears... not the serial number from the watch case. Cases and watches were often made by different companies and each usually has its own serial number. You usually have to take the back off the watch case to see the movement serial number which may appear anywhere on the watch movement.

Use the movement serial number. Do NOT use the case serial number!
This is an example only. Your movement serial number may not be in exactly the same location as the one in the photo, but you are looking for the serial number that is on the watch mechanism itself... not the serial number on the external case.

YearS/N
185250
1853400
18541000
18552500
18564000
18576000
185810,000
185915,000
186020,000
186130,000
186245,000
186365,000
1864110,000
1865180,000
1866260,000
1867330,000
1868410,000
1869460,000
1870500,000
1871540,000
1872590,000
1873680,000
1874730,000
1875810,000
1876910,000
18771,000,000
18781,150,000
18791,350,000
18801,500,000
18811,670,000
18821,835,000
18832,000,000
18842,350,000
18852,650,000
18863,000,000
18873,400,000

The Dueber Watch Company

YearS/N
18883,800,000
18894,200,000
18904,700,000
18915,200,000
18925,800,000
18936,300,000
18946,700,000
18957,100,000
18967,450,000
18978,100,000
18988,400,000
18999,000,000
19009,500,000
190110,200,000
190211,100,000
190312,100,000
190413,500,000
190514,300,000
190614,700,000
190715,500,000
190816,400,000
190917,600,000
191017,900,000
191118,100,000
191218,200,000
191318,900,000
191419,500,000
191520,000,000
191620,500,000
191720,900,000
191821,800,000
191922,500,000
192023,400,000
192123,900,000
192224,100,000
192324,300,000
YearS/N
192424,550,000
192524,800,000
192625,200,000
192726,100,000
192826,400,000
192926,900,000
193027,100,000
193127,300,000
193227,550,000
193327,750,000
193428,100,000
193528,600,000
193629,100,000
193729,400,000
193829,750,000
193930,050,000
194030,250,000
194130,750,000
194231,050,000
194331,400,000
194431,700,000
194532,100,000
194632,350,000
194732,750,000
194833,100,000
194933,500,000
195033,560,000
195133,600,000
195233,700,000
195333,800,000
195434,100,000
195534,450,000
195634,700,000
195735,000,000
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Serial

This is an example using the Waltham serial number table. Be sure to use the table that is specific
to YOUR brand of watch when looking up your serial number.

Dueber Pocket Watch Case Serial Number

Be sure to use the serial number on the watch movement (the mechanism).
Do not use the serial number from the watch case.