Dating your Vintage Watch
How to Use our Vintage Watch Serial Number & Date Lookup Tables
Can't find YOUR exact serial number in our lookup tables?
Many watch companies made hundreds of thousands of watches, and some companies made millions of watches! It would be impractical to list the individual serial numbers of EVERY watch made... that would make for some really long pages! Our serial number tables list RANGES of serial numbers. So to determine when your watch was manufactured, you will need to determine where your serial number fits within the range of numbers.
Example:
Let's say you have a Waltham watch with serial number 21,607,210 as shown in the photo below. Note that we're using the serial number from the watch movement, not from the watch case. Looking at the table of Waltham serial numbers (see example below), you can see that number 20,900,000 was made in 1917 and 21,800,000 was made in 1918. Since your serial number falls between those two numbers, you know that your watch was made in 1917 or 1918.
Not sure which number to use?
You must use the serial number from the MOVEMENT of the watch... the working part with the wheels and gears... not the serial number from the watch case. Cases and watches were often made by different companies and each usually has its own serial number. You usually have to take the back off the watch case to see the movement serial number.
Use the movement serial number. Do NOT use the case serial number!
Example: American Waltham Watch Company
Approximate Serial Numbers and Dates
| Year | S/N |
|---|---|
| 1852 | 50 |
| 1853 | 400 |
| 1854 | 1000 |
| 1855 | 2500 |
| 1856 | 4000 |
| 1857 | 6000 |
| 1858 | 10,000 |
| 1859 | 15,000 |
| 1860 | 20,000 |
| 1861 | 30,000 |
| 1862 | 45,000 |
| 1863 | 65,000 |
| 1864 | 110,000 |
| 1865 | 180,000 |
| 1866 | 260,000 |
| 1867 | 330,000 |
| 1868 | 410,000 |
| 1869 | 460,000 |
| 1870 | 500,000 |
| 1871 | 540,000 |
| 1872 | 590,000 |
| 1873 | 680,000 |
| 1874 | 730,000 |
| 1875 | 810,000 |
| 1876 | 910,000 |
| 1877 | 1,000,000 |
| 1878 | 1,150,000 |
| 1879 | 1,350,000 |
| 1880 | 1,500,000 |
| 1881 | 1,670,000 |
| 1882 | 1,835,000 |
| 1883 | 2,000,000 |
| 1884 | 2,350,000 |
| 1885 | 2,650,000 |
| 1886 | 3,000,000 |
| 1887 | 3,400,000 |
| Year | S/N |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 3,800,000 |
| 1889 | 4,200,000 |
| 1890 | 4,700,000 |
| 1891 | 5,200,000 |
| 1892 | 5,800,000 |
| 1893 | 6,300,000 |
| 1894 | 6,700,000 |
| 1895 | 7,100,000 |
| 1896 | 7,450,000 |
| 1897 | 8,100,000 |
| 1898 | 8,400,000 |
| 1899 | 9,000,000 |
| 1900 | 9,500,000 |
| 1901 | 10,200,000 |
| 1902 | 11,100,000 |
| 1903 | 12,100,000 |
| 1904 | 13,500,000 |
| 1905 | 14,300,000 |
| 1906 | 14,700,000 |
| 1907 | 15,500,000 |
| 1908 | 16,400,000 |
| 1909 | 17,600,000 |
| 1910 | 17,900,000 |
| 1911 | 18,100,000 |
| 1912 | 18,200,000 |
| 1913 | 18,900,000 |
| 1914 | 19,500,000 |
| 1915 | 20,000,000 |
| 1916 | 20,500,000 |
| 1917 | 20,900,000 |
| 1918 | 21,800,000 |
| 1919 | 22,500,000 |
| 1920 | 23,400,000 |
| 1921 | 23,900,000 |
| 1922 | 24,100,000 |
| 1923 | 24,300,000 |
| Year | S/N |
|---|---|
| 1924 | 24,550,000 |
| 1925 | 24,800,000 |
| 1926 | 25,200,000 |
| 1927 | 26,100,000 |
| 1928 | 26,400,000 |
| 1929 | 26,900,000 |
| 1930 | 27,100,000 |
| 1931 | 27,300,000 |
| 1932 | 27,550,000 |
| 1933 | 27,750,000 |
| 1934 | 28,100,000 |
| 1935 | 28,600,000 |
| 1936 | 29,100,000 |
| 1937 | 29,400,000 |
| 1938 | 29,750,000 |
| 1939 | 30,050,000 |
| 1940 | 30,250,000 |
| 1941 | 30,750,000 |
| 1942 | 31,050,000 |
| 1943 | 31,400,000 |
| 1944 | 31,700,000 |
| 1945 | 32,100,000 |
| 1946 | 32,350,000 |
| 1947 | 32,750,000 |
| 1948 | 33,100,000 |
| 1949 | 33,500,000 |
| 1950 | 33,560,000 |
| 1951 | 33,600,000 |
| 1952 | 33,700,000 |
| 1953 | 33,800,000 |
| 1954 | 34,100,000 |
| 1955 | 34,450,000 |
| 1956 | 34,700,000 |
| 1957 | 35,000,000 |
| - | - |
| - | - |
Be sure to use the serial number on the movement of the watch itself.
Do not use the serial number from the watch case.
SPONSORED ADVERTISEMENTS