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The Model 14
1890 to 1910
The Model 14 was Seth Thomas's first 6-size ladies watch, introduced to the public around 1890, just five years after pocket watch production began. It was the company's only known design with a male winding stem, which was dropped halfway through the first production run. The M14 was made with a choice of four jewel counts on plate finishes of either gilt or nickel in a lever-set hunter configuration, so open-face dials had no seconds bit. The serial number runs of the Model 14 alternated with those of the Model 15, and the factory appears to have had both the Models 14 and 15 in production at the same time, though it's not clear why since both were 6-size hunter movements.
Grade Assignment
There were three lever-set hunter grades listed in all the known catalogs. The Grade 119 was available in both adjusted and unadjusted variants, and around 1900 the jewel count was raised from 15 to 16.
* The Grades 22, 146, and 125 have all been assigned.
There are no known catalogs or adverts listing any of these grades.
The Models 14 to 19 Run Chart
The serial number runs for the various models alternated with each other up to SN 1000000. Factory records past this point have not been found, so it's not clear which model was being used or if it was more than one. For ease of research the Model 18 is listed on the chart for these runs, since it was the latest of the models.
The Jeweling Discrepancy
It's been long assumed that the only visual difference other than pattern between the upper three grades was that the 11-jewel Grade 122 had press-fit jewels on the upper train plate, whereas the 15 and 16-jewel Grade 119 had screw-set jewel settings. A recently logged example with screw-set jewel settings clearly has bushings on the pillar plate for a count of only eleven, bringing into question whether any of them did indeed have a count of fifteen or those with a center jewel had sixteen.
The Lever Brothers Watches
The British manufacturer Lever Brothers ordered hundreds of private-label Model 14s from Seth Thomas. They were all 7-jewel gilt Grade 46s with matching dials in gold demi-hunter cases, which have a small crystal in the front cover to tell the time without having to open it.
A huge company like Lever Brothers had no reason to retail low-grade watches, and since their pride in their employees was well known it's likely that these were presentation pieces.
Period Ad Cuts
1909
Factory trade ad.
Seth Thomas Highlights
The rarest regular-production two-tone pattern of all, made in one block of seventy - and then never again.