# Gladstone Electric



## dombox40 (Oct 20, 2008)

Just picked this up off the bay not one I,ve heard of before but quite a nice dial very simular to the Wittnauer, but what makes this interesting it has the much rarer landeron 4751 movement with hacking feature. I probably wont receive this until the new year so if you want to take a look it,s Item No 170581090513.


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## dombox40 (Oct 20, 2008)

From the poor quality photo,s I,ve just noticed the dial on this watch is marked Electromatic the same as Paul,s Hilton on his website, the only difference being this has a screw on back as opposed to the Hiltons snap on back but the dials are identical as far as I can see.


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## dombox40 (Oct 20, 2008)

A couple of not very good sellers pics.


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## Larry from Calgary (Jun 5, 2006)

dombox40 said:


> Just picked this up off the bay not one I,ve heard of before but quite a nice dial very simular to the Wittnauer, but what makes this interesting it has the much rarer landeron 4751 movement with hacking feature. I probably wont receive this until the new year so if you want to take a look it,s Item No 170581090513.


Nice one Ken.

Another Landeron based model, is anybody tracking these and/or building a manufacturer's database?

:thumbsup:


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## dombox40 (Oct 20, 2008)

Larry from Calgary said:


> dombox40 said:
> 
> 
> > Just picked this up off the bay not one I,ve heard of before but quite a nice dial very simular to the Wittnauer, but what makes this interesting it has the much rarer landeron 4751 movement with hacking feature. I probably wont receive this until the new year so if you want to take a look it,s Item No 170581090513.
> ...


Hi Larry I think Paul has one of the finest data bases for this type of watch you could wish for on his website, he has most of the makers of these covered but you still keep getting the odd maker pop up that,s not been heard of before.


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## Drum2000 (Apr 2, 2010)

Very nice and a good catch. Couldn't drag it up on the bay though.


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## dombox40 (Oct 20, 2008)

Drum2000 said:


> Very nice and a good catch. Couldn't drag it up on the bay though.


Hi should come up as the Item No number is correct.


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## dombox40 (Oct 20, 2008)

Well it,s arrived at last and it,s not in bad condition for it,s age, only problem is the dial which is badly marked but a quick e-mail to our resident electronic expert Paul and he kindly offered to send it off to his dial restorer and have it refinished for me some time in the next few weeks. Just goes to show that this is the best forum in the country when you need some help and advice. I will do a post on this when it,s been fully restored, but for now a piccy of the badly marked dial.


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## Mechanical Alarm (Oct 18, 2010)

Excuse my ignorance... isn't this a Wittnauer rip-off ??


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## Silver Hawk (Dec 2, 2003)

Mechanical Alarm said:


> Excuse my ignorance... isn't this a Wittnauer rip-off ??


No


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## dombox40 (Oct 20, 2008)

Mechanical Alarm said:


> Excuse my ignorance... isn't this a Wittnauer rip-off ??


As Paul said it,s not a copy, this has a much rarer movement than the Wittnauer as it has a hacking feature and not to many of these to be found. Not quite sure why they chose the big hands but Pauls Hilton on his website has the same dial and hands.


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## Mechanical Alarm (Oct 18, 2010)

Silver Hawk said:


> No


*Thanx for all of that great information!!*

*
*



dombox40 said:


> Mechanical Alarm said:
> 
> 
> > Excuse my ignorance... isn't this a Wittnauer rip-off ??
> ...


Thank you for the information - really. What I meant to say is to the casual observer - which 99.999% of the population is - they look identical - forget the guts.


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## Silver Hawk (Dec 2, 2003)

Mechanical Alarm said:


> Silver Hawk said:
> 
> 
> > No
> ...


I think I answered you original question "Excuse my ignorance... isn't this a Wittnauer rip-off ??". You didn't seem to be asking for reasons on why it might or might not be a rip off...but I'll give you mine anyway 

Several watch makers who made (assembled) watches with the first Swiss electric movement (Landeron 4750), chose to use hands in a very similar style to the more well-known Wittnauer Electro-Chron. There is Ken's Gladstone in this thread and the Hilton below; but both the Hilton and the Gladstone have lumed hands whereas the Electro-Chrons do not.



















Then there are the dials on these Landeron-based watches. Did Rotary copy Everite or the other way around?










Or maybe they both copied Mira?










I don't think anyone copied anyone.

My theory is that Landeron not only supplied the movements to many watch assemblers but the cases, dials and hands as well. I suspect it went a bit like this in the early 1960s:

Come in Mr. Silver Hawk...how can we help you?

I'd like to buy 10,000 of these new fangled Landeron 4750 electric movements and start building the first "Silver Hawk Electric" watch :thumbsup:.

OK, we only sell the movements complete with cases, dials and hands. But please free to choose your dial and hands styles: we can offer wavy pattern dials or plains one if you prefer. We have a wide selection of hands, with and without lume. As far as the cases are concerned, there are two styles depending on which battery they use, either the Mallory WD-4 or WD-5....and of course you can have those is s/steel, gold capped s/steel, gold plate or sold gold.

Just a theory..but it is based on owning over 30 of these watches and servicing at least another 40


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## Mechanical Alarm (Oct 18, 2010)

That's what I'm talkin' about... now that's an answer!! Thank you very much for this one, since I am sure it took some time to put together.

I would like one of each please..., just send the watches and the bill!


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## mel (Dec 6, 2006)

Mechanical Alarm said:


> I would like one of each please..., *just send the watches and the bill!*


Win the Lottery on Wednesday night, did you ? and how's your Experian rating :lol:

A few K there for one each of Paul's collection, that's for sure :yes: Had another trawl through the electric-watches site - always love doing that! So many watches - so little money


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## harleymanstan (May 29, 2009)

Looking forward to pictures of the final product. With a dial refinish it will be a real gem. :notworthy:

harleymanstan


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## Larry from Calgary (Jun 5, 2006)

harleymanstan said:


> Looking forward to pictures of the final product. With a dial refinish it will be a real gem. :notworthy:
> 
> harleymanstan


I'm in complete agreement with you Jarett, this should be a real beauty when it's finished.

I especially like the "lightning bolt" hands that were used in the design of these watches. :man_in_love:

Good catch Ken :thumbsup:


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## turbojockey (Nov 10, 2020)

I see this is an old thread, but I hope somebody is still watching...

I have a Gladstone Electomatic watch that is very similar to the image posted here, except that it also says INCABLOC on the face below centre. I'm no expert, but it looks pretty close to perfect to me. No marks or scratches. The alligator strap is likely the original and shows no signs of wear. It came out of storage, every indication being that it was put away when it was new. Of course, I'd like to know the value, and if there remains any interest, but first I have a question. When I unscrew the plug on the back (I expect where the battery goes), there is just an empty space. Even if the battery was removed for storage purposes, shouldn't there be something else there? Contacts? ...j


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## John_D (Jul 21, 2018)

turbojockey said:


> I see this is an old thread, but I hope somebody is still watching...
> 
> I have a Gladstone Electomatic watch that is very similar to the image posted here, except that it also says INCABLOC on the face below centre. I'm no expert, but it looks pretty close to perfect to me. No marks or scratches. The alligator strap is likely the original and shows no signs of wear. It came out of storage, every indication being that it was put away when it was new. Of course, I'd like to know the value, and if there remains any interest, but first I have a question. When I unscrew the plug on the back (I expect where the battery goes), there is just an empty space. Even if the battery was removed for storage purposes, shouldn't there be something else there? Contacts? ...j


 Might it be a non working salesman's sample? (not likely to be the case though if the crown turns the hands), obviously removal of the back would settle that question....


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## turbojockey (Nov 10, 2020)

John_D said:


> Might it be a non working salesman's sample? (not likely to be the case though if the crown turns the hands), obviously removal of the back would settle that question....


 The crown definitely turns the hands. I'm pretty sure it is a working watch. I probably wasn't explicit enough in my description of what I see inside the back when I remove the screw plug. The inside is not empty, just what appears to be the battery compartment. It has a green coloured bottom to it. Actually looks a bit like an electronics board with one "nub" in exactly the centre. I would include a pic here if I could but I don't have an external site where I can post it for sharing. ...j


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## John_D (Jul 21, 2018)

turbojockey said:


> The crown definitely turns the hands. I'm pretty sure it is a working watch. I probably wasn't explicit enough in my description of what I see inside the back when I remove the screw plug. The inside is not empty, just what appears to be the battery compartment. It has a green coloured bottom to it. Actually looks a bit like an electronics board with one "nub" in exactly the centre. I would include a pic here if I could but I don't have an external site where I can post it for sharing. ...j


 That would appear to be the -ve battery terminal, the +ve one being the case hatch....

According to Ranfft this should be the movement under the 'board'.....


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## turbojockey (Nov 10, 2020)

John_D said:


> That would appear to be the -ve battery terminal, the +ve one being the case hatch....
> 
> According to Ranfft this should be the movement under the 'board'.....


 Thanks for the info. I'll have to try to find someone who has the right tool and setup to take the back off properly/safely. May take awhile. ...j


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## turbojockey (Nov 10, 2020)

Got set up so I can post pics of the watch. This is all I have so far. When I am able to have the back taken off properly, I'll take post what I find. ...j



http://imgur.com/2SzoMBI




http://imgur.com/z7tZM94


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## turbojockey (Nov 10, 2020)

Hmmm... if those two didn't work, try these. ...j


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## Always"watching" (Sep 21, 2013)

An interesting thread, dear @dombox40, and may I just contribute my "tuppence worth" of info.

The "Gladstone" brand is associated with the Wenger Watch Company/Wenger Ltd of Montreal, Canada, founded in 1923 and still going, trading as "Wenger's Ltd". The current brand name for watches produced by Wenger's Ltd is "Cardinal" and the firm itself, now on the fourth generation of the founder, is a family concern. In addition to watches, the firm produces and sells a small range of accessories including magnetic bracelets, money and tie clips. The Canadian Wenger company is no relation of the Swiss Wenger company, famous for the Swiss Army pocket knives together with its now parent organization, Victorinox.


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## Balaton1109 (Jul 5, 2015)

This page from Paul's excellent resource may help in getting your watch up and running: https://electric-watches.co.uk/makers/landeron/batteries-for-landeron-electrics/

Your version appears to correspond to Paul's bullet-point *#1*

Regards.


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## turbojockey (Nov 10, 2020)

Balaton1109 said:


> This page from Paul's excellent resource may help in getting your watch up and running: https://electric-watches.co.uk/makers/landeron/batteries-for-landeron-electrics/
> 
> Your version appears to correspond to Paul's bullet-point *#1*
> 
> Regards.


 Thanks! Very informative. Bullet 1 is definitely the best match for my watch. Also, maybe I won't be too hasty to try to find someone to take off the back... I don't want to risk messing it up with someone who doesn't have exactly the right tool. I don't expect they are all that common. ...j


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## turbojockey (Nov 10, 2020)

John_D said:


> That would appear to be the -ve battery terminal, the +ve one being the case hatch....
> 
> According to Ranfft this should be the movement under the 'board'.....


 Looks like it to me.



http://imgur.com/xO4IjgE




turbojockey said:


> Looks like it to me.
> 
> 
> 
> http://imgur.com/xO4IjgE


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## osit (Dec 9, 2020)

Good Morning to all;

May I ask what is the value of the Gladstone Electromatic - incabloc.

The same as the one you have posted the pics above.

I have one in very good shape.

V/R


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