The 1905 E. Howard Watch Company Early 3/4-Plate Product Lineup with Series Classifications

Following a short period of time when Waltham manufactured movements for Keystone with the E. Howard name, a new 16-Size product lineup was introduced to the market in April 1905. Due to the way the series classifications evolved over time, the designations for the early product lineup offered by the E. Howard Watch Company (Keystone) are often overlooked or confused. Fortunately, the 1907 catalog assists in understanding how the early production was classified despite how the series designations matured over time.

In the April 1905 issue of The Keystone, the E. Howard Watch Company (Keystone) announced a “new line of 16 size watches.” The movement of each watch is illustrated and clearly described, perfectly correlating with the products offered in the 1907 Catalog. 

The E. Howard Watch Company catalogs typically signify the series classification by the first digit in the item numbers. The subsequent digits indicate the paired case type and style. Note: The Series 0 logically does not have a preceding digit. For example, item No. 10 is a Series 0 movement fitted in a Plain 14K Extra Heavy Hunting case. Similarly, item No. 110 is a Series 1 movement fitted in a Plain 14K Extra Heavy Hunting case. Item No. 210 is a Series 2 movement fitted in a Plain 14K Extra Heavy Hunting case. This codified number system is crucial to understanding the proper series classifications at the time of publication.

With this information, we can deduct the following early series classifications for the ¾ plate lineup:

Series 1

19 Jewels, Adjusted to 3 Positions, Temperature, and Isochronism
(Illustrated as Waltham Model)

Series 2

17 Jewels, Adjusted to 3 Positions, Temperature, and Isochronism
Model 1905

Series 3

17 Jewels, Adjusted to Temperature and Isochronism
Model 1905

The characteristics of these series descriptions were generally maintained until early 1908 when the level of adjustment for the entire product line was upgraded. An announcement was published in the April 1908 issue of The Keystone.

“The 17-jewel 16 size grade that has heretofore been adjusted to temperature is now adjusted also to three positions and isochronism; and every grade that has been adjusted to three positions is now adjusted to five positions and isochronism.”The Keystone, April 1908