The Model 1
1885 to 1888
The Model 1 was the company's first watch, initially offered to the public in 1885. It was an 11-jewel gilt 18-size lever-set movement, able to fit into the standard cases. Herman Reinecke, master watchmaker for the new factory, designed it and was awarded two patents in 1885 for some of its components. The 3/4-plate layout that Reinecke came up with was clumsy, requiring complete disassembly of the movement to change the mainspring, something the company would stick with on every subsequent 18-size open-face watch that they produced except for the Model 5 at a time when other factories were exploring split-plate and bridge designs.
Grade Assignment
The company's debut watch was the Grade 44, and it wasn't long before three new grades were introduced, raising the jewel count to fifteen, all of which would continue into the full run of the Model 3 at SN 10,901.
The Grade 44 vs 55
The only difference between the 11-jewel Grades 44 and 55 was the addition of a gooseneck regulator spring, shown here. Since it's easy to swap balance assemblies, it is difficult to know if a given watch is genuine or original without a check of the serial numbers.
The Slow Train
The factory tried a slow gear train at 16,200 beats-per-hour (BPH), but quickly gave it up with no change in grade designation, though the different leaf and pinion counts were listed in the early catalogs.
Telling Them Apart
11-jewel Grade 44
11-jewel Grade 44
11-jewel Grade 44
The pallet and escape wheel are jeweled (red arrows), the regulator is a simple one, and the plates are not marked Adjusted.
11-jewel Grade 55
11-jewel Grade 44
11-jewel Grade 44
The same jeweling locations as a Grade 44 but the regulator now has a gooseneck adjustment spring (red arrow).
15-jewel Grade 70
15-jewel Adjusted Grade 101
15-jewel Adjusted Grade 101
The third and fourth wheels are jeweled (red arrows), the regulator has a gooseneck, and the movement is not marked Adjusted.
15-jewel Adjusted Grade 101
15-jewel Adjusted Grade 101
15-jewel Adjusted Grade 101
The same jeweling as a Grade 70 but the lower plate is now marked Adjusted behind the balance wheel.
The Patent Signatures
1
The earliest one from SN 1 to roughly 900.
Single-line showing only the Jan 85 patent.
2
Reported from SN 900 to 2800. Double-line stamp showing both patent dates.
3
3
From SN 2800 to the end at 10900. Single-line stamp showing both patent dates.
Reinecke's Patents
Herman Reinecke applied for and was awarded patents for two separate components used in the design of the Model 1 while he was in the employ of Seth Thomas, the first in January of 1885 and a second one later that same year in September. His ideas for a winding pinion with slanted teeth and a delicate click spring were unique to this watch and were not incorporated on later models.
For more info about Reinecke's designs visit the Records page.
Period Ad Cuts
1885
This is an ad cut from New York supplier R L Friedlander, dated 1885. This is one of the earliest known ads showing the price for the base variant of the Model 1, even though the movement in the photo is equipped with a micro-regulator, making it a Grade 55.
1885
Scribner's magazine ad.
1885
1885
Another Friedlander ad cut. Note that the signatures are shown upside-down from how they would really appear on the movement.
Found Buried
"I'm sending these photos because this serial number isn't in your database. This watch was a beach find, buried in the sand at Long Beach, Washington. When we got it apart we were amazed at what we found. Obviously it will never run again but at least it still exists!"
Submitted by Pam L of Castle Rock, Washington
The Earliest Verified Model 1
Serial Number 94
Single-digit serial numbers on surviving American pocket watches are exceedingly rare, and two-digit examples are only slightly less scarce. Seth Thomas watches started at #1, with #61 being the lowest reported serial number from a bad Xerox culled from an Ehrhardt volume.
SN 94 is the earliest example with digital photos. It appeared on eBay in late 2024 and was snapped up almost immediately, despite the fact that the entire balance assembly had been removed or lost by someone dumb enough not to realize that the serial number was that low.
Sadly, the loss of the balance cock and wheel negated any chance of a proper restoration because the major components on most watches have the unique serial number stamped into them, including the cock and the wheel. Any replacement parts could only come from a donor, which would of course have a different number on them; note the number 94 stamped on the pillar plate.
Jonathon Luysterborghs
Enter Jonathon Luysterborghs, special research assistant to the Pocket Watch Database, adroit at 7-jewel variants and renowned Seth Thomas Expert, who excels at collecting ruined examples, installing the wrong dial and hands, stuffing them into junk nickel cases, and uploading such messes to the PWDB so they can forever be regarded as quality pieces.
Luysterborghs is utterly indifferent to the details of these antiques, not caring about the subtleties of what they looked like when they left the factory well over a century ago, and is certainly not concerned about anything as minor as serial numbers, so he scavenged an entire balance assembly from a donor movement to install on #94, meaning that it is now an undesirable Frankenwatch with mismatched serial numbers.
He picked any cracked dial that he had laying around, regardless of the style that belongs on a Model 1. He didn't bother to mount it properly; note that the seconds hand tube is crimped against the edge of the dial arbor hole. He was clearly too lazy to put on the correct hands, using a minute hand from an Elgin instead.
He of course chose a junk nickel case with multiple lever slots that appear to have been hand-filed, neither of which are in the correct location to align with the setting lever (red circle).
Note that the setting lever is wedged against the right edge of one of the cutouts, meaning that the lever cannot be pulled out to set the hands.
This is truly fine work.
The earliest examples of both the Model 1 and Model 3 came in factory-marked cases with the ST logo in its square diamond, though it's not clear if they were made at the factory, which is doubtful, so they were likely made by the Philadelphia Co. Apparently any junk nickel case would be sufficient to house the earliest established example in existence, so that's precisely what our hero did.
Well done, Mr Luysterborghs! Don't forget to clear away your Harbor Freight tools from the kitchen table where you were tinkering with this molested parts movement before you sit back down for supper.
Pocket Watch Restoration
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