Waltham 18S 17J lever set (LS) adj. Santa Fe Route pocket watch #6038233, beautiful nickel full plate movement with screw-down gold jewel settings (GJS), a gold star regulator and a fancy concentric circle & medallion damascene pattern has "Santa Fe Route" engraved, this movement is a mirror to the Crescent St. grade also found in this serial number run and this watch can also be considered a private label, double sunk (DS) porcelain enamel Montgomery dial with fancy Arabic numbers, red & black Arabic minute markers and a black-marked subsidiary seconds register has some faint hairlines, bold blue steel spade & whip style hands.
Re-cased into a heavy smooth polish yellow gold filled (YGF) hunting case (HC) with a large fancy monogram shield surrounded by floral engraving, with a ring of basket-weave engraving on each case edge (bezel), a sculpted pendant, heavy bow and a glass crystal, case is showing normal even wear with notable smoothing to most of the engraving and small spots of brass starting on the frame, near the hinges and on the pendant, measures approx. 54mm in diameter x 75mm in length x 17mm thick. A very high quality Waltham from the 1890s, a fantastic watch for a railroad enthusiast or for the Waltham collector looking to fill in a harder-to-find grade to their collection, in excellent overall condition!
- Year Made: 1895-1896
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Company:
Waltham
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Movement Size:
0318S
- Jewels: 1117J
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Setting/Movement Type:
lever set
- Adjustments: 1-3 positions
- Model/Grade: Santa Fe Route
- Serial #: 6038233
- Movement Finish: nickel
- Movement Details: hunting case movement (HCM), gold jewel settings (GJS), screw-down jewel settings, gold star regulator, private label mark
- Dial Material: porcelain enamel
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Dial Details:
double sunk (DS), Montgomery style
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Hand Style:
spade & whip
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Case Style:
HC
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Case Material:
Gold Filled - Yellow
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Case Details:
re-cased
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Case Width/Diameter:
54mm (2.13 inches)
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Case Length, bow included:
75mm (2.95 inches)
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Case Thickness:
17mm (0.67 inches)
- Crystal Material: glass
- Misc. Info: Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
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Condition:
Excellent
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Gender:
Gentlemen's
The Waltham watch company, and the earlier American Waltham Watch Co., which had a variety of locations over the many years it was in operation (including Waltham, Massachusetts), was in business from 1851-1957, and was one of the most prolific of the American watch companies.
As an additional resource, we've posted a
Serial Number Production List which includes information for Waltham serial numbers and dates of manufacture.
The NAWCC also has a
comprehensive article about the company; additional information may also be found on
Wikipedia.
You may browse all of our men's pocket watches from this manufacturer at our
Vintage Men's Waltham Pocket Watches category.
This watch is in good running condition, unless otherwise noted in the description. This means that on receipt, pending any item-specific running conditions noted in the description, you can expect the watch to be winding and setting properly and to run smoothly while keeping reasonable time. We consider "reasonable time" to meet these basic guidelines:
- Railroad Grade Watches will be keeping +/- 5 minutes per day
- Pocket and Wrist Watches with 15 or more jewels will be keeping +/- 10 minutes per day
- All key wind watches and watches with 14 or fewer jewels will be keeping +/- 15 minutes per day
The above guideline is the lowest standard in which we would ship out a watch, however in most cases, you will see much better timekeeping. Most of our watches have been in storage for many years, so if you plan on carrying/wearing them everyday, you should consider having them cleaned and oiled soon, and then once a year thereafter to keep them in top running condition. If the watches will be for occasional use or display, they should be cleaned and serviced every 3 to 5 years depending on use.
As of November 24th, 2025, we are not offering a cleaning and service option through PM Time Service. While we do hope to offer this again in the future, we are unfortunately unable to meet customer requests for watch servicing at this time. Please note that, unless otherwise mentioned within the "Full Description" tab, this watch is being sold in good running condition and is ready to wear or carry on arrival.
This watch features a jeweler's mark, or name of the retailer that originally sold the watch, in addition to the name of the watch manufacturer. Jeweler's marks may be engraved or printed on the dial, case or movement, depending on the watch. See the Full Description for details specific to this piece.
The jewelers' mark was a pretty common practice during the early to mid-1900s, and does continue today. A jewelry shop would commission a small run of watches directly from a watch manufacturer, such as Hamilton, Illinois, etc., who would then add markings for that jeweler at the factory to the dial, movement and/or case. This would allow for the jeweler to offer a customized branding of a high quality watch without the prohibitive cost of directly manufacturing the watch components and assembly.
The most common example that most will recognize is with Tiffany & Co., which for a short time did manufacture their own watches but realized it was cost prohibitive for their label and transitioned to commissioning watches from high-end watch manufacturers instead. On many of their vintage watches, you'll see the "Tiffany & Co" markings on the dial, and occasionally also stamped on the movement and case, but additional markings on the movement will show Longines, International Watch Co., etc. to also indicate the manufacturing company.
Unlike modern quartz watches, most vintage watches need daily winding in order to keep the watch functioning for timekeeping. Additionally, there are a number of different ways to set the time other than simply pulling the crown away from the watch body. We are happy to provide an overview of each of the different setting types on our
"How To Use" page, where we also provide information on proper winding techniques for each style and some suggestions for the proper long term care and storage of your watch.
For your gift giving convenience, please find a consolidated overview of the information on this item, with no reference to the price, on this
printer-optimized page.
