DESCRIPTION:
APW - Ball Howard, marked "Trademark B of LE Standard" on mvt, Series VIII, 17J, N-S (just over 19S), very heavy 14K gold OF EH&Co case with gold cuvette, "E. Howard & Co, Boston" signed white enamel SS dial with distinctive Moorhouse-style decorative elements, SW-SS, spiral pattern nickel damascene, s#307479. Gross weight of assembled watch 92.4 dwt (143.8 g). A rare watch, it is believed that in total there were 190 of the open face Ball Howard movements marked for either the B of LE (Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers) or the O of RC (Order of Railway Conductors) with the division among this total being 120 with B of LE markings and 70 with O of RC markings. The dial of this example carries Howard factory markings rather than the typically expected matched Ball and B of LE markings found among most examples of this movement, and though this dial has some distinctive characteristics of Josiah Moorhouse's work an inspection of the dial's reverse showed that it carries no signature of any kind. CONDITION: Mvt: GRO after a sluggish start...
CONDITION:
Mvt: GRO after a sluggish start, fine-plus cosmetic mvt condition overall, balance cock with a short but deep scratch at about the mid-point of its inner side, small marring around balance jewel setting, main plate with scattered fine and micro-fine scratches; dial with hl at 5, faint hl at 8:45, faint hl above seconds-register, minuscule flake to lower rim of center hole, few minuscule edge flakes under bezel; fine hands, minute with finish loss to much of its stem, seconds-hand with some oxide; case shows medium wear, very mild shallow dent to lower left perimeter of rear, engine turning detail largely lost with only faint remainder visible around central portion; tight bow, replacement crown shows hardly any wear; good glass crystal.
ESTIMATE:
$3000
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$4600
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