Quirky sized LWC sized watches

The watch movement sizing used in the UK & US was devised in Lancashire - the Swiss used "Ligne" but by the 1930s made most of them to fit "Lancashire" sized cases. Most US makers stuck to the even numbered sizes 12, 14, 16 etc.

 

The Lancashire Watch Company however made watches in several quirky sizes,this one is a size 14 ¾ but with the heavy case it ends up with the same externam diameter as most size 16s.

 

LWC 15 jewelled pin set watch, 1895

 LWC 15 jewelled pin set watch, 1895

 

Whilst this one for Kendal & Dent is a size 16 ¾

LWC 11 jewelled pin set watch 1900.

LWC 11 jewelled pin set watch 1900.

 

Thoughts on the failure of the Lancashire Watch Company

A Size 14, model 116, "Excellent" grade with the
addition of 2 pairs of jewels and signed for the retailer.

The Lancashire Watch Company failed in 1906 (although it continued trading in administration until 1910), many have blamed the failure of the skilled workers (many of who would have had to sell or wind up their small business after the formation of the LWC) to embrace new ways of working, Cutmore [1] argues that given early success this in unlikely and that poor marketing, bad forecasting, unwanted products and a plethora of designs & products and by implication pricing were to blame. Looking at the trade catalogues from 1898 [2]  and later I would go with the later point.

The three-quarter plate keyless watch is a good example:

Movements:

In 1898 the three-quarter plate keyless was available in two forms, both were pin set with the crown connected to the movement through bevel gears in the case and on the movement.





A Full plate LWC movement showing
the hinge and sprung loaded catch
required for a swing out movement.

#104: a swing out movement with the hinge integrated with the face plate and a catch opposite to secure it in the case. This model is rare and I have never one complete with its case.

#116: what became the more familiar type retained in the case by two screws with the addition of a locating pin to stop the movement turning in the case through the action of the bevel winding gear. This was not yet the “Standard” watch case.
 

Lancashire Watch Co. for Yeomans for Tustain?

 

This watch case has the makers mark of Samuel Yeomans a medium sized maker from Coventry and a pillar of the Coventry watch making community in the 1890s and chairman of the Coventry Watch Movement Company (CWMCo) in addition to running his own business.

I was therefore rather surprised to find that the movement was by the Lancashire Watch Company, whilst the CWMCo entered into an agency (and pricing) agreement with the LWC to make good the CWMCo's lack of capacity to meet demand, this was for ebauché to be finished by local makers such as Yeomans. But this movement is a standard LWC product.

Wondering if it had been re-cased in a Yeomans case, difficult but sometimes possible with English movements, I checked the case very carefully and found it not only to be original but to have the LWC's maker's mark on the pendant which shows that they made the case as well[i].

One wonders why, apart from making money, a reputable Coventry maker and head of the Coventry Watch Movement Company was doing buying in complete watches to sell on to retailer, in this case L. Tustain of 82 Regent St, Leamington a company founded the year before this watch was made and still in business.

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[i] Having a different makers mark on the pendant is not unusual as there were a good number of independent pendant makers supplying case makers but the LWC would not have been doing that