Ladies Rubaiyat wrist watch which was also wearable as a pendant. Case serial number is extremely low (1000099).
The RUBAIYAT W Co. stamping looks different from other examples, its crude compared to other examples. Note also the placement of the "R" in Rubaiyat (almost off the edge of the bridge).
The movement is dual stamped A.HAMMERLY who was responsible for some of the first date complication movements in 1915 and registered some of the first patents for such movements.
Somethng to also note with this watch is the sub-second hand dispay, something very rarely seen on a ladies watch of this era.
I've been looking at a number of very early adverts of late for 1916 to 1920. These adverts show many other watch manufactures and the varioius case, dials, numbers and hand designs used during this period.
I found a number of 1917 adverts that matched the case crown guard, numbers and hands, so this example maybe as early as 1917. We know Bulova first used the name Rubaiyat in 1916.
This watch has me re-thinking how these early watches are dated.
After a full dissassemble and thorough clean and polish, she's working beautifully with a strong heart and keeping great time.
A bit more on the maker of this fine movement.
A Brief History of the Day and Date Complications
Calendar complications have been used in pocket watches since the late 19th century. This complication has been a favourite amongst watch collectors for decades. Pocket watches with a date complication were first patented in wristwatches by the watchmaker A Hammerly in 1915. Hammerly created what is now known as the ‘pointer date’. The pointer date uses a hand which points to the date using a display that is printed on the outside of the dial. Hammerly also introduced the weekday display, positioning it under 12 o’clock in the dials of his watches.
What a great pick up. You are right about sub seconds on a ladies watch. There was some thought in the day that a proper woman should not be concerned by seconds and that it was rather crude to have seconds on a ladies watch. I will defer to the early watch experts on the panel.