Antique Bates & Bacon Art Deco Gold Filled Watch Chain Fob Pen Pocket Knife

Description

Early 20th century (pre-1920's) gold filled pocket watch curb chain by Bates & Bacon hung with a gilt two blade pocket / pen knife etched with an art deco design.

"Bates & Bacon was an American jewelry firm established in New England in the mid-19th century. The business is widely recognized in jewelry-collecting circles for making a bevy of rolled gold and gold-filled bracelets. Pocket watch collectors associate the Bates & Bacon name with the firm’s popular watch cases, which were made beginning in the late 1800s. The company that became Bates & Bacon was founded in Attleboro, Massachusetts, in 1857 as Skinner, Viall & Company. The name changed to Bates, Capron & Williams in 1858. George M. Bacon came aboard as a partner in 1867 as other partners sold their share of the business, and the firm became Bates & Bacon. The name changed again to Briggs Bates & Bacon when D.F. Briggs joined the firm in 1922. In 1930, the History of Massachusetts Industries: Their Inception, Growth and Success by Orra L. Stone reported that the “present-day unit of Bates & Bacon, Inc. is made up of A.S. Blackinton and F.E. Tappan, and it employs 150 operatives.” Other members of the Tappan family were associated with D.F. Briggs in the early 1900s, so the timing and overlap with the Bates & Bacon and Briggs Bates & Bacon names and the related marks used by the two companies are somewhat ambiguous. Bates & Bacon was known for making rolled gold bracelets in styles popular during the Victorian era, and the business continued to make a variety of bracelet designs into the 20th century. Over time, the company’s jewelry lines expanded to include chains, lockets, pins, and earrings. Gold watch cases were added to the firm’s inventory in 1882, and eventually gold-filled cases were made as well. The watch case division was sold to Philadelphia Watch Case Co. in 1901, though the mark B & B was still used on watch cases made after the sale. The Briggs Bates & Bacon factory continued to produce jewelry through the 1950s. D.F. Briggs made a variety of expansion bracelets under the brand Carmen, named after his daughter. The Carmelita brands that are sometimes associated with Bates & Bacon appear to have been made before the companies merged. " (Source: Worthpoint)

Condition

Fair, wear/tarnish; blades rusted shut.

Dimensions

3" x 0.5" x 0.25" / Chain Length - 13.5" (Width x Depth x Height)