18-size 17-jewel Waltham '83 in a Display Case

American Waltham kept their model assignments simple, naming them after the year in which they debuted, meaning that their Model '83 was first offered to the public in 1883. The design was the foundation for many of the company's named grades, since it was durable, dependable, and easy to service. The Waltham "Gray Book", released in 1954, is the most reliable source of run data available, but even that is loaded with errors, since this 17-jewel example falls into a run that is listed as 15-jewel, a possible upgrade. This pendant-set Grade 15 was just fully restored and comes from the factory with an uncommon flashed-gilt pattern and a full gilt hardware package, including the case screws. The snowy white Roman dial has the correct full two-line signature and nicely blued open-morning-glory hands. The nickel-silver case shows no ghost marks and was converted to display to show off this beautiful movement with covers that thread on easily and NOS glass on both sides.