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The Model 24*
1913 to 1915
The 4-size watches are noted from several sources, including the 1913 Trade List and Chris Bailey's interview with Wesley Billings, a worker at the factory from 1911 onward. There is no known model number, but they were offered in two grades as part of the Centennial line.
* This is an assigned model number
Grade Assignment
Only two grades were offered in a nickel pinstripe pattern, identical except for the jewel counts. As always, the factory considered two-tone and nickel to be the same. No gilt examples have been reported.
The Problem
The problem is that this open-face pendant-set model measures 34.65 mm in diameter, which is a standard 6-size movement. Billings stated that at the time there were a total of 23 models, which have all been accounted for, so if a true 33.0 mm 4-size was indeed manufactured then none have been reported yet. It's also very unlikely that the company would tool up to make a third 6-size model, so the simpler explanation is that they continued production of an open-face variant of the Model 18, sold in snug factory cases and marketed specifically as a 4-size watch for ladies and girls.
The Named Grades
Adonis
Knickerbocker
Century
7-jewel nickel Grade 320
Century
Knickerbocker
Century
7-jewel nickel Grade 320
Knickerbocker
Knickerbocker
Knickerbocker
7-jewel nickel Grade 320
Lake Shore
Lake Shore
Knickerbocker
15-jewel nickel Grade 322
Republic
Lake Shore
Republic
7-jewel two-tone Grade 320
Republic
Lake Shore
Republic
15-jewel nickel Grade 322
Waldorf
Waldorf
Waldorf
15-jewel nickel Grade 322
The Centennial Grade
According to both the 1913 catalog and the Wes Billings interview, the Centennial Series was made in only the three sizes of 4, 12, and 16, with no mention of any 6-size watches. Either the company was marketing the 6-size Model 24 as a 4-size watch in a very small factory case, or there really is a 4-size model, which hasn't been reported yet.
The 1913 Catalog Listing
The 1914 Catalog Supplement
The 1914 Catalog offered all three Centennial models (4, 12, and 16-size) as complete watches in several choices of cases:
- Solid nickel, plain polished for $5.30, regardless of size
- 10-year gold-filled, engine turned, starting at $7.00
- 20-year gold-filled, engine turned, starting at $9.10
- 20-year gold-filled, finely engraved, starting at $9.50
The 1915 Catalog Insert
Courtesy of the Smithsonian Museum of American History Library
The 4-Size Wristwatches
The company offered a larger 4-size wristwatch, and the only known ad cut (repeated in several jobber and trade catalogs) shows a configuration of a pendant-set open-face watch, the same layout of the Model 24, which has already been established as a 6-size watch.
Why Seth Thomas chose to carry a second wristwatch with the clumsy arrangement of the stem at the 12:00 position is not clear with the movement rotated in the frame, but given the difference of 5 millimeters between this watch and a 0-size it's no wonder the ad text includes the disclaimer that the 4-size case was "a trifle larger".
Seth Thomas Highlights
The rarest regular-production two-tone pattern of all, made in one block of seventy - and then never again.