Antique 14K GF Pocket Rail Watch Dueber Case J.S. Townsend Movement - Gorgeous For Sale

Gorgeous 14K Gold-Filled Pocket Watch from the late 19th century - working perfectly.This watch has an interesting history.This watch was purchased and assembled right at the peak of late-19th-century American industrial rail expansion.It was manufactured in approximately 1886. It is trademarked #10377, which was registered on June 26, 1883, by the Dueber Watch Case Manufacturing Company. The case is anAnchor Grade case. This watch is a lovely piece of history, featuring a movement marked forJ.S. Townsendof Chicago, Ill., a well-known historic jeweler and railroad watch inspector of the era. The case is a beautifully constructed, with a thick layer of gold mechanically bonded to a base metal core. It looks and wears beautifully, like solid gold. It even threw off a gold scanner, passing for solid gold. Thewatch movement is a highly collectible Private Label watch manufactured by the Columbus Watch Company.The movement inside was built in Columbus, Ohio. The Columbus Watch Company was founded in part by Dietrich Gruen (who later went on to found the famous Gruen Watch Company). They were legendary for building rugged, high-quality timepieces often favored by railroad workers.While the gears were manufactured by Columbus, the fancy script engraving on the brass plate reading "J.S. Townsend, Chicago, Ill." makes this a custom movement. J.S. Townsend. They operated a prominent jewelry store at 1554 Wabash Ave. in Chicago and heavily marketed as "The Railroader's Jeweler."