1920s South Bend Pocket Watch & Chain

A 1920s South Bend pocket watch & chain.

The watch has a stem-winding movement with 19 jewels which is working well. The movement is signed South Bend Watch Co, USA, 19 jewels, adjusted temp 4 positions and the serial number 1099294 which dates it back to 1924.

The watch measures 45mm diameter excluding the winding stem and the loop. The case is white gold filled and is stamped Wadsworth, warranted 25 years.

The glass lens is in nice condition.

The dial is signed South Bend. The dial is in its original finish and has some marking although very acceptable for its age.

The watch has blued steel hands.

The South Bend Watch Company was formed by three brothers, George, Clement and John M. Studebaker. South Bend movements were identified as model 1, 2, or 3, with grades numbering 100 to 431 … even number grades denoted hunter-case movements, and odd number grades were intended for open face cases. Through the first two decades of the twentieth century the company grew and prospered. During its peak years the company produced 60,000 watches annually and employed nearly 600 employees. Ambitious nationwide advertising was largely responsible for this early prosperity and full-page adverts showing the South Bend watch running in a block of ice were particularly effective. All watches carried an “insured for a lifetime guarantee.”

With the onset of the Depression and the fact that the company never moved over to wristwatches meant the company began to struggle and they closed their factory on Thanksgiving Eve in 1929.

The watch comes on a vintage silver plated watch chain which measures 31cm including the clasps.

The watch & chain come in a new presentation box.

ALL PRICES INCLUDE UK POSTAGE (because of GPSR legislation, we no longer post items less than 100 years old to Europe, including Northern Ireland).

Please contact us regarding international shipping.

All of our watches are checked over before listing, and are also checked for accuracy which is usually within around +/- two to three minutes over 24 hours (unless otherwise stated), which is considered respectable for a vintage watch.

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