Hello Jamie,
Thank you for sending in this decorative wall clock to mearto.com for an appraisal. I shall try to do that for you today.
TITLE:
Pie-pan shaped, brass colored, battery powered quartz movement, eight-day, decorative wall clock, ‘Waltham’ model, made by a clock company in West Germany, circa 1980.
DESCRIPTION:
This wall clock, hung by link chain, is considered a decorative item rather than a vintage or antique object. Measuring 6” x 5.5” and made in West Germany this pie-pan shaped convex lacquered brass-colored round design, solid and darkened in the center and is fenestrated around the peripheral edges with arrowhead shaped openings. The dial uses impressed Arabic hours at the quarters and baton hours at the balance of the hours. The dial is signed, “Waltham, 8 day, Made in West Germany”. The ebonized steel skeletonized hands are in the Louis XVth style. A decorative colorful rosette sits beneath the hands. I do not think that there was ever a back cover to this clock. A link chain attached @2 and @10 is for hanging from a nail on the wall.
The great era of such decorative European clocks, battery powered, was primarily from 1970-1990. There were several well-known German companies operating in West Germany during those years: Hermle, Urgos, Kieninger, Junghans, Jauch, Kundo, etc.
Condition: The clock case is in very good condition and assumed functional. A very pretty wall hung decorative clock.
HISTORICAL NOTES:
The name Waltham bears no relationship to the famous early American Waltham watch and clock company of Waltham, Massachusetts. They closed their American doors for good during the 1950s. Before the Waltham Watch Company went out of business in 1957, it founded a subsidiary in Switzerland in 1954, Waltham International SA. During the era of 1960 to 1981 Waltham was taken over in the 60’s by three brands, including Invicta, a Swiss watch company. They combined their talents to produce watches, fully made in Switzerland. This was often called “Invicta by Waltham”. In some cases, both Invicta and Waltham names were written on the dial.
In 1959, the Waltham Watch Company also merged with the Hallmark Watch Company, giving the new company access to replacement parts to service existing Waltham watch owners. The company came under much scrutiny by the Federal Trade Commission throughout the 1960s, and ultimately was forced to change its advertising and branding policies to clearly indicate that it was not directly related to the original Waltham company, and that its products were not made in America.
Later in the 1970s, Waltham merged into a federation with other Swiss manufacturers, called The Société des Garde-Temps SA (SGT).
Swiss Sociéte Garde-Temps SA holding company held several Swiss brands including Waltham. As a result of the quartz crisis in Swiss watch manufacturing, SGT went under in 1981 and the rights to the SGT brands were sold individually. Apparently, the clock division was sold at least in part to one of the West German clock companies.
Specialized clocks and chronographs for use in aircraft control panels continued to be made in the Waltham factory by the Waltham Precision Instruments Company, now located in the southern USA. In February 1994, Prime Time Clocks purchased the last remaining product line, the mechanical aircraft clock. Waltham Precision Instruments was moved to Ozark, Alabama and changed its name to Waltham Aircraft Clock Corporation.
Therefore, it appears that pieces of the old Waltham company were scattered throughout the globe by 2000.
COMPARABLES:
~ https://www.ebay.com/itm/VTG-Lacquered-Wood-Slab-Wall-Clock-No-Clock-Movement-Bird-Butterfly-Mushroom/224220508005?_trkparms=aid%3D555021%26algo%3DPL.SIMRVI%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20190711100440%26meid%3D52c9482685cb46d39422dba3ada98eed%26pid%3D100752%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D4%26mehot%3Dpf%26sd%3D223763036946%26itm%3D224220508005%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2047675%26algv%3DSimplRVIAMLv5WebWithPLRVIOnTopCombiner&_trksid=p2047675.c100752.m1982
(Offered on eBay for $13)
~https://www.ebay.com/itm/223763036946?_trkparms=ispr%3D1&amdata=enc%3AAQAFAAACMBaobrjLl8XobRIiIML1V4Imu%252Fn%252BzU5L90Z278x5ickkNhEMXTu%252Fq1Qu7DzD5a9Hs%252FrU0UVU1p4uYfYKQppezVbG%252BKpRU4KcVkXQQ0mncEcXGXeePEiKbV7jF1PPYH21ndqhoMm1APOJtwnGD1uunGNh9or9Tct4gcwDgc3oW5TQ0GxrX%252FL4GPyLJM1wqMkeknIIGoFOe0i2Q4RAJw2VRRezpR3n9%252BI7zTF9C7%252BhUmW45AEw%252BMF3rZCZf5gsjdileK10LDj%252BELkuQPKeNYh81EeQ3uTfTvMB84P2CA%252B2AX1%252F0KzBjAuZCWefV8irZOfplpTFB%252FUlYNqnFm1kUo%252Bk5Y2Tjwj6jISol9sVnm9TAaRcpOJ8cqjtklof6r49uCXabSo92BhA83zLiMJm%252FFSsltFFJc5rHZ037y4sB18wCxwC7GYKqJYlkE6g%252FN9%252BPqLZyukqOzPpqB7g%252ByevrZFMghBBV7gvz9skcTS%252BFIQH%252BnXKTIV6kpnxeXXZAbJeBK4b3zqnvh11Nna0xtpZM1ykFr5yPtK47Tsuhtp6nIOvBduV4s6uoL%252BSXHsdUUVMizuskRg07GAj0PhDPnT2e3%252Bz7IkwWU1ObownDoC8dKopBJNHhVA1x%252BxkisTAHp8UpknlBsXHDZnrKJurkae4ORCnMQyvAv8AS%252BsuHkRWUkICYa7Rin3UF32hhMC%252FFnRBVHf6UOwc2oQHSRO3L0JVKycpq9VscBNR2SJEjcw6lDvwBi8I%7Ccksum%3A2237630369464817830d28d146d98e41391f404a97fc%7Campid%3APL_CLK%7Cclp%3A3268220&chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&itemid=223763036946&targetid=1098102009964&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9058684&poi=&campaignid=11774045932&mkgroupid=117378450867&rlsatarget=pla-1098102009964&abcId=9300473&merchantid=115325341&gclid=CjwKCAiAi_D_BRApEiwASslbJ_JVGBnDVVxBSuIirnsg6f5yDQhCIUfwpcYsKllxLq8KzUa2O6knKxoCKUkQAvD_BwE
(Offered on eBay for $50 with no buyers as yet.)
~ https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Waltham-Quartz-Wall-Clock-Octagon-Shape-VTG-Waltham-Quartz-Hanging-Clock/313326878270?_trkparms=aid%3D1110006%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20131231084308%26meid%3D0fa30695b69a48fe98ad62969d4f7c2a%26pid%3D100010%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D223763036946%26itm%3D313326878270%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2047675%26algv%3DDefaultOrganicWithAblationExplorer&_trksid=p2047675.c100010.m2109
(Offered for $36)
Pricing:
Since this piece is neither antique nor vintage, I have priced it as if sold on the Home Furnishings market. I believe a fair market value for such an item would be in the range of $25-$40.
Retail prices would be about twice that amount. I hope you enjoy this clock on your wall.
Thank you for choosing mearto.com for this appraisal.
Happy new Year to you and yours.
My best,
David