American 14 carat gold railway watch with chain Circa 1912

Very unusual ‘Montgomery Quality Extra’ watch
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A very rare railway watch Howard ‘Montgomery Quality Extra’ with chain, made by the E. Howard Watch Co. in Boston, United States of America, circa 1912. The case of this watch was crafted from 14 carat gold by the Keystone Watch Case Company in Philadelphia, according to the 1859 patent of James Boss, for producing “stiffened” gold filled cases recognised for durability. The white enamel dial features a calibrated black Arabic numeral minutes track with red Arabic five minute divisions, black Arabic hour numerals, a subsidiary seconds dial and blued steel spade hands. The numbered movement is equipped with a precision lever escapement, 19 jewels, 5 berries and extra adjustments on five positions for temperature.
The case, dial and movement are signed.
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Diameter: 53 mm
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Weight: 98 g
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Signed: Howard
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Howard
The E. Howard Watch Company (originally E. Howard & Co.) was a premier American horological firm established in 1858 in Roxbury, Massachusetts. Founded by Edward Howard and Charles Rice following the bankruptcy of the Boston Watch Company, the company became synonymous with high grade, precision pocket watches and innovative manufacturing techniques.
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Keystone
The Keystone Watch Case Company was once the largest manufacturer of watch cases in the world. It is best known for its “J. Boss” gold filled cases and for eventually acquiring the rights to the prestigious E. Howard watch brand.
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Extra adjustments on five positions for temperature
In the world of pocket watches, it is a sign of extremely high quality, if a movement is adjusted for both temperature and multiple positions. High quality pocket watches, such as the famous American “Railroad Grade” watches, were adjusted to 5 positions as well as temperature as standard. Some masterpieces even went up to 6 positions.
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Berries
In watchmaking, the term “berries” (or “red berries”) is an informal or colloquial way to refer to jewels – the tiny, red synthetic rubies or sapphires used as high – performance bearings inside the watch movement.

While not a formal technical term, it is sometimes used by enthusiasts or in creative watch designs, such as the British brand Mr Jones, which has a watch model called “Berry Late” that plays on this imagery.