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The Models 12 and 13

1904 to 1913

The New Century design differed from the Old Century line in plate cuts only. ​It's not clear why the company retired one in favor of the other, since there is no other difference between the two models, but these movements were still the lowest 18-size grades that the company had to offer. Again, none were marked Seth Thomas; all of the factory's output in the New Century Series were also made up of named grades. ​Novelty watches with fake glass jewels appeared for the very first time, and it became clear that the end was at hand.

Jewel Count and Grade

Production Totals and Dates

380,000 Numbered Total

Total production for the numbered New Century models is a little over a third of a million, counting roughly 300,000 of the open-face Model 12 and about 80,000 of the hunting Model 13. An unknown percentage of both models were produced with partial or missing serial numbers.


The Model 12

The Model 12 was made in two blocks - the first occupied an uninterrupted block between SN 1000001 and 1301000, and the second block resumed somewhere around SN 4068000. Why the Model 12 did not continue production until the start of the hunting Model 13 is a mystery. All were named grades with matching dials. Nearly all had only 7 jewels, although some runs of the Republic had a higher jewel count of 15 with two-tone plates and its own special embossed dial. The Model 12 was offered in both pendant and lever-set designs.


The Model 13

All examples fall between SN 1700001 and 1780000, and again named grades were the only ones being produced, including novelty "railroad" grades such as Trainmen's Special, Sentinel and RR Special. The Republic grade again was notable as the only one with the higher count of 15 jewels. The hunting Model 13 was lever-set only.

1904 to 1913

The first printed record of the Century model being offered for retail was the 1904 catalog, but it's ambiguous and doesn't state whether it's the Old or New line, nor is there a photo to make it obvious. The last catalog listing is 1909, but given how cheaply they were made it's likely they continued to the end.

Master Block Chart

The Models 12 & 13 Chart

The watches logged in the Models 12 & 13 database are all reported examples or verified from photos. This chart is for public use and for personal research, not for the Pocket Watch Database to "borrow" or for Jonathon Luysterborghs to plagiarize, though both will probably do so anyway. 

Seth Thomas M12&13 Database (pdf)

Download

The New Century Series Named Grades

The Standard Grades

All of the Models 12 and 13 movements turned out by the factory were named grades; none were marked Seth Thomas on the dial or the plates. There were roughly fifty named grades in total, but only a dozen or so were used exclusively on the Century Series. All of the reported examples have matching dials, and some, like the Athabasca, Liberty, Stratford, and Wyoming, are fairly rare.
They were all 7-jewel designs, except for the 15-jewel Republic grade.  

The Special Grades

  • Republic grade click HERE.
  • Engine Special, Sentinel, and Trainmen Special click HERE.

Athabasca

Athabasca

Athabasca

7-jewel two-tone Model 12 only

Century

Athabasca

Athabasca

7-jewel nickel Model 12/13

Colonial

Athabasca

Colonial

7-jewel gilt or nickel Model 12/13

Corona

Criterion

Colonial

7-jewel gilt or nickel Model 12/13

Criterion

Criterion

Criterion

7-jewel nickel Model 13 only

Edgemere

Criterion

Criterion

7-jewel nickel Model 12/13

Knickerbocker

Knickerbocker

Knickerbocker

7-jewel nickel Model 13 only

Liberty

Knickerbocker

Knickerbocker

7-jewel nickel Model 12/13

RR Special

Knickerbocker

RR Special

7-jewel nickel Model 12 only

Stratford

Stratford

RR Special

7-jewel nickel Model 12 only

Wyoming

Stratford

Wyoming

7-jewel two-tone Model 12 only

The Republic Grade

The Republic grade was offered in both 6-size and 18-size, and was apparently a special grade within the Model 12/13 run because it had an optional higher jewel count of fifteen, came in a variety of finishes, and had its own special patterned (embossed) dial. 

The Fake-Jeweled Grades

Three of the named grades within the New Century line - the Engine Special, the Sentinel, and the Trainmen's Special - were standard 7-jewel movements with glass cap jewels over the pivots and the barrel that served no purpose. The micro-regulator on the balance cock was functional in adjusting the rate. All three grades came with two fake "counts" of either 17 or 23 jewels, but again these were for looks only and did not affect the accuracy in any way. There were similar grades in the 6-size watches, such as the Countess Janet.

The 1904 Catalog

Period Ad Cuts

1902

1902

1902

1904

1902

1902

1915

1902

1915

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Seth Thomas Highlights

The rarest regular-production two-tone pattern of all, made in one block of seventy - and then never again.

Other Rare Examples