Hello Russell,
Thank you for sending you pocket watch into mearto.com for an appraisal. I shall try to help you with that tonight.
TITLE:
Art Nouveau, Gents/Ladies, ‘0’s, 14K yellow gold-filled, pendant wound and pendant set, keyless, savonette open face pocket watch with clear gemstone on the outer cover of the case (case made by the Philadelphia Watch Case Company-see notes), the Grade 320 watch made by the Elgin National Watch Company, Elgin, Illinois, circa 1905.
DESCRIPTION:
CASE – This is a ‘0’ size, three leaf, gold filled multicolor open face pocket watch with engine turned outer cover in green, rose and yellow gold engraved with floral and foliate designs in the manner seen during the Art Nouveau era (1880-1910) stressing natural forms found in nature. There is a rose colored gold filled rosette directly under the pendant with a clear gemstone, possibly a diamond or rhinestone. Both the back cover and the cuvette are marked with trademarks/hallmarks. The inside of the cuvette carries the large crown, a trademark of the Philadelphia Watch Case Company founded by James Boss. Just below the crown the Assay reads '14K gold filled' and reveals the quality of the gilt metal case. The finish using microns of 14k gold guarantees the finish to last at least 25 years. The case number is 7019327. There is a fluted suppressed ball pendant and round bow placed at the three position (savonette) opposite the case hinge. . .
DIAL – A white enameled dial with fine black Roman hours, bar minute track with red Arabic markers placed every five minutes around the periphery of the dial, sunken subsidiary seconds @6, steel spade hands and the dial signed, Elgin. . .
MOVEMENT – This is a damascened nickel split three-quarter plate movement, size ‘0’, the Grade 320, Model 2, Class 16 movement made by the Elgin National Watch Company, Elgin, Illinois, with serial number 11869059, made in 1905 in a run of 4000 such movements, each made with 7 ruby jewels, pendant wound and pendant set, double roller, going barrel, bimetallic balance wheel, quick train, plain index regulator and Breguet hairspring. The movement is properly signed and numbered by Elgin. . .
CONDITION:
CASE – The covers are both in very fine condition and still simulate a solid gold case after over a century of use.
DIAL – Good with tiny hairline fractures @ 23- and 38-minute markers.
MOVEMENT – Excellent condition and fully functional.
HISTORICAL - Philadelphia Watch Case Company:
MR. THEOPHILUS ZURBRUGG bought out the watch case company of Leichty & Le Bouba in 1884, in Philadelphia, Pa. "About 1888 he changed the name to the Philadelphia Watch Case Co. He made various types of cases, using a crown as one trademark and an arm and hammer as another. ... The company moved to Riverside, N.J. in 1902. ... "In 1904 this man managed a series of mergers, which brought together his own Philadelphia Watch Case Co., Bates and Bacon, Crescent and the Keystone Watch Case Co.""... After a series of mergers in 1904 the name became the Keystone Watch Case Co., Riverside, N.J." "... the history provided in legal documents for the anti-trust case against Keystone ... states that all of the capital stock of a newly organized Philadelphia Watch Case Co. (August 1900) was owned by Keystone." - - - - -
In fact, the history of the Philadelphia Watch Case Co. is bound up with that of the T. Zurbrugg Co. and of the Keystone Watch Case Co. It was the T. Zurbrugg Co. which, having moved to Riverside, NJ in 1898, purchased the case business from J. Muhr & Bro. (successor to H. Muhr's Sons) and thus gained the use of the trade marks for Crown and Lion cases. The T. Zurbrugg Co. was apparently absorbed by the Philadelphia Watch Case Co. when it was incorporated by Zurbrugg and others in 1899. This is indicated on Philadelphia's letterhead which included a small banner reading "Successors to T. Zurbrugg Co." That letterhead can be seen in an open letter to the trade, published when Philadelphia bought Bates and Bacon in January 1901.
In 1901, the Philadelphia Watch Case Co. had purchased the U.S. Watch Co. at Waltham, only a little more than a year after NY Standard was purchased by Keystone and Zurbrugg. That was at the same time, that the three companies, Zurbrugg, NY Standard and Philadelphia, opened a shared office on New York's Maiden Lane. But it must be kept in mind that, by that point, Zurbrugg and Keystone were essentially the same company. The stated purpose in an article describing Philadelphia's purchase of the United States Watch Co., Waltham, Mass. was "... to have a large output of high-grade watches, ..." but that didn't exactly happen, at least not under the Philadelphia name. Instead, Keystone (the real owner) purchased the rights to use the Howard name on watches and ran the company as the E. Howard Watch Co. Almost as if to add insult to injury, the names used on the cases were Keystone and Crescent, not Philadelphia.
PRICING:
These gold-filled, gold-plated and rolled-gold little pocket watches sell in the $130-$170 range when in very good condition, as this watch is. When in 14 or 18k solid gold they sell for 3-4 times that amount. So, I would say that the fair market value of your example is valued between $130 and $170, perhaps slightly less on the higher end because of the tiny fracture on the dial. Retail values of course would be higher.
I hope that explains this nice little jewel size pocket watch.
Thank you for choosing mearto.com.
My best,
David