Brief History: New York Standard Watch Company
Including Serial Numbers and Production Dates
1885 - 1929
Jersey City, New Jersey
The New York Standard watch company was first incorporated in 1885 and operated in Jersey City, New Jersey. They should not be confused with the New York watch company, which was one of the predecessors of the Hampden Watch company. New York Standard produced watches in the following sizes: 18, 16, 12, 6, 0, 3/0 and 10/0 in 7-15 jewels. They are, perhaps, best known for offering a unique straight line lever "worm-gear" escapement, patented by R. J. Clay.
New York Standard operated from 1885 until 1929 and produced over 8 million watches. Some of their models are more common, while some are extremely rare. Repairing New York Standard watches has become very difficult due to the lack of availability of parts for repair. In many cases it is simply not possible to locate parts and repairs for certain models are no longer possible.
Early New York Standard Watch Ad for Worm-gear Escapement
New York Standard Watch Company
Approximate Serial Numbers and Dates
This table is known to be incorrect! This is the only published table of NYS serial numbers and dates we've seen, but I do not believe these numbers to be accurate. Serial number information for New York Standard is incomplete and inconclusive. To the best of our knowledge, there are no complete serial number/date records available for New York Standard watches, and it appears that New York Standard did not use a consistent system of sequential numbers to identify their watches. Some watches appear to have a serial number, while others have a number which seems to describe size and model. Some serial numbers bear a prefix of unknown meaning. We would love to hear from anyone with more complete or accurate information on NYS serial numbers.
| Year | S/N |
|---|---|
| 1890 | 600,000 |
| 1895 | 900,000 |
| 1900 | 1,200,000 |
| 1905 | 1,500,000 |
| 1910 | 1,800,000 |
| 1915 | 2,100,000 |
| 1920 | 2,400,000 |
| 1925 | 2,700,000 |
| 1930 | 3,000,000 |
Anecdotal evidence of NYS serial numbers and dates. On occasion we observe, or hear about, NYS watches which show evidence of date of manufacture, or date of purchase by the consumer. For instance, a dated inscription engraved upon the watch which provides evidence of when it may hve been purchased. If you have anecdotal information about NYS watches, please send it and we'll include it here. Over time we hope to construct a more accurate picture of NYS watches and dates..
| Inscribed Year | Size | S/N | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1890 | 0s | 2,177,XXX | |
| 1894 | 6s | 2,276,XXX | |
| 1899 | 1,062,152 | ||
| 1914 | 16s | 3,114,107 | Excelsior |
Be sure to use the serial number on the movement of the watch itself.
Do not use the serial number from the case.