Serial Number Rotary Watch Co
Determine the Age of your Vintage Pocket Watch How to Use our Vintage Watch Serial Number & Date Lookup Tables Instructions for using our serial number look-up tables This page contains INSTRUCTIONS for using the serial number look-up tables that are found on many of our watch company history pages. The example below uses information from the American Waltham Watch Company, but that is just an example. You should consult the serial number table for the specific brand of watch movement you are trying to date by selecting a company from the menu on the left.
Not all vintage watches can be dated using the serial number. Some American watch brands did not use a consistent series of serial numbers, but most of the big manufacturers did. Most vintage Swiss pocket watches did NOT have serial numbers and can't be dated by this method.
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 some really long pages!
Jul 18, 2013 rotary watch serial numbers serial numbers to date a rotary wristwath - Watches question.
Our serial number tables list RANGES of serial numbers. So to determine when your watch was manufactured, you will need to find where your serial number fits within the range of numbers. Serial number look-up 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 (marked in red in the table below). Since your serial number falls between those two numbers, you know that your watch was made in 1917 or 1918. Not sure which serial 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 which may appear anywhere on the watch movement. Use the movement serial number. Do NOT use the case serial number!
This is an example only. Your movement serial number may not be in exactly the same location as the one in the photo, but you are looking for the serial number that is on the watch mechanism itself. Not the serial number on the external case.
If you take a look at the back side of your vintage Certina, you'll see (at least if it is from the 1950s to the mid-seventies, and the case back has not been polished) two numbers on the case back. These are the reference number and the serial number. There were three different systems of numbering, depending on the era.
Prior to 1958, a reference number, for example, looks like this: 8600-2. But the composition of the reference number was similar to the following system which was used from about 1958 to 1974. Then, the system was changed again. It's not clear if the serial numbering was changed in the fifties. It also could be that it continued until the changeover in 1974. Furthermore, it seems that special watches, such as chronometers and gold watches, may have had a separate six-digit numbering. A reference number from the period 1958 to 1974 has two parts and seven digits.
The serial number also has seven digits. The reference number of this period is made up as follows: The first two digits indicate the movement that was used. Download Game Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 Rip. In this example, the 87 stands for the Certina 29-064 (Valjoux 728). The corresponding assignment can be seen in the tables below. The second two digits represent the case material. Here we have a number 01 for a steel case. The last three digits indicate the appropriate model resp.
The case style. In this case, the Chronolympic 'Regatta' Chronograph. Please note that the following tables are still under construction and I cannot guarantee the accuracy and completeness of the information. Case material No. Material 01 Stainless steel 10 18 carat yellow gold 71 18 carat white gold (incl.
Bracelet) 02 Chromed 11 18 carat white gold 80 18 carat yellow gold (incl. Bracelet) 04 Redgold-plated 21 Stainless steel with gold cap (on top) 81 18 carat white gold (incl. Bracelet) 05 Gold-plated 10 micron (yellow gold) 27 Stainless steel with gold cap (top and side) 90 Ceramic grey 06 Gold-plated 20 micron (yellow gold) 60 18 carat yellow gold (incl. Bracelet) 92 Ceramic aubergine 08 18 carat rose gold 61 18 carat white gold (incl.
Bracelet) 09 14 carat yellow gold 70 18 carat yellow gold (incl. Have you ever wondered what year your vintage Certina is? There are a lot of requests about that information. Unfortunately, until recently, there wasn’t a reliable way to check the serial number with the year of production.
Even at Certina itself, it seems that no reliable records exist (based on various requests from collectors directly to Certina, in my experience). What luck for us vintage Certina aficionados that Martin Lovasz has taken it upon himself to prepare such a list, and also that he welcomes our participation. At this point, thanks again Martin for your work! The list published below cannot be absolutely guaranteed since it was created from various individual items. Unfortunately, the exact year can only be determined by a few elements.
It takes a personal engraving or proof of purchase to determine the exact year. The more such pieces can be added to the database, the more precise the list will be.
We are therefore dependent upon your help. So if you own a timepiece which can be clearly dated, please the data.
I will then pass the information on to Martin. Serial numbers (to 1974) Year Serial- number Year Serial- number Year Serial- number 1938? 1956 2'900'000 1965 5'500'000 1948 1'300'000 1957 3'100'000 1966 6'000'000 1949 1'500'000 1958 3'300'000 1967 6'500'000 1950 1'700'000 1959 3'500'000 1968 7'000'000 1951 1'900'000 1960 3'700'000 1969 7'500'000 1952 2'100'000 1961 3'900'000 1970 8'000'000 1953 2'300'000 1962 4'200'000 1971 8'500'000 1954 2'500'000 1963 4'500'000 1972 9'000'000 1955 2'700'000 1964 5'000'000 1973 9'600'000 After the changeover in 1974 the watches had no more serial numbers. Design, trademarks and logos A rough estimate of the production period can also be done by the various design markings on the dial. Until about 1953, the Certina writing on the dial was printed in cursive handwriting, with connected letters.
The name 'Certina' is taken from the Latin 'certus', meaning 'assured', 'certain'. Starting in 1954, the modern lettering with block letters in capitals was used, as it is today. In 1958, the lettering was complemented by the well-known logo with the two rotating “C” shapes, one within the other.
In order to find a suitable logo, there was a competition created for graphic designers.