Hello George,
Thank you for sending in this gold pocket watch to mearto.com for an appraisal. I shall try to help you with that today.
TITLE
Title:
Ladies, Jewel size-0, 14k yellow gold, pendant wound and pendent set, keyless, savonette, hunting case pocket watch, Grade 223, made by the Elgin National Watch Company, Elgin, Illinois, circa 1900.
DESCRIPTION:
Case – ‘0’-size, four leaf, engraved 14k yellow gold hunting case pocket watch, both outer covers engraved with a Fleur-de-Lys sprouting vines and flowers which fill the covers and suggest an Art Nouveau era design (c. 1880-1910). All of the foliage is set against an engine turned background of tiny foliate shapes. There is a medallion for the owner's initials on one cover. The inside of the cover reveals the case number, 4566433, and that the case is warranted to be made of 14K gold by U.S assay. The logo of the Keystone Watch Case Company is visible (see History). There is a fluted suppressed ball pendant and round bow placed at the three position (savonette) opposite the case hinge.
Dial - White enameled dial with upright black Arabic hours, closed bar minute track, sunken subsidiary seconds @6, steel American type spade hands and the upper dial signed, ‘Elgin’ in the ‘Olde English’ style.
Movement – This is a damascened nickel, split three quarter plate damascened movement, the grade 223, model 1, class 84, made by the Elgin National Watch Company of Elgin, Illinois, S/N 8446714, made in 1900 (n a run of 8000 such movements), made with 15 ruby jewels, some in screw settings, going barrel, quick train, gold center wheel, straight line lever escapement with Breguet hairspring and plain index regulator. Properly signed and numbered by Elgin.
CONDITION:
Case – Excellent
Dial – Few tiny scuffs and some discoloration around the subsidiary seconds dial.
Movement – Very good to excellent. Original, genuine and functional.
HISTORY:
KEYSTONE WATCH CASE COMPANY:
In 1853 Randolf & Reese Peters were making watch cases in Philadelphia, employing James Boss in their movement department. In 1859 - J. Boss received a patent for "spinning up" cases made of "gold-filled" type material. That is, material made of a sheet of composition metal (usually brass) sandwiched between two thin sheets of gold. Boss formed cases by rolling sheet metal as opposed to the traditional method involving soldering and cutting. Rolling increased the molecule density of the metal. His patent, No. 23,820 of May 3, 1859, revolutionized the watch case industry by enabling the production of not only less expensive, but considerably stronger cases. ... Unlike gold washed cases, which were made using electroplating, cases produced by means of rolling had much harder gold surfaces and were thus less apt to wear. In 1871 Boss sold patent rights to John Stuckert of Philadelphia. By 1875 - T.B. Hagstoz & Charles N. Thorpe at 618 Chesnutt St. Philadelphia purchased the "J. Boss" patent from the estate of John Stuckert. Hagstoz & Thorpe seems to have made only gold-filled cases using the J. Boss patented method. Orders increased so rapidly that larger quarters became necessary immediately. A new plant on Brown Street was erected. In 1877 the E. Tracy case company, a manufacturer of solid gold and silver watch cases, was acquired. n 1880 - the company moved to a six-story building on Nineteenth St., with an equal-size annex on Wylie St. Between 1883 - 1885 - T.B Hagstoz withdrew from the company which became C.N. Thorpe Co. and shortly thereafter it was reorganized as the KEYSTONE WATCH CASE COMPANY. The firm was producing 1,500 cases per day by 1889. By merging with and purchasing other watch case and watch making companies Keystone, by 1911 was the largest watch case company in America.
COMPARABLES:
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/67365382_solid-14k-gold-elgin-national-pocket-watch-1895 (Size18 - sold in 2019 for $1100)
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/59274291_14k-solid-gold-elgin-pocket-watch-15-jewel (Size14- sold in 2918 for $950)
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/59858712_antique-1905-elgin-14k-gold-7-jewel-pocket-watch (Size 0 sold in 2018 for $325)
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/56205094_solid-10k-gold-elgin-full-hunter-pocket-watch (Size 6 sold in 2017 for 325 Canadian $)
https://www.barnebys.com/realized-prices/lot/elgin-diamond-and-14k-multi-color-gold-pendant-watch-0-wG5PMq26jX (Size 0 sold for $550 in 2015 with multiple colored gold)
https://www.barnebys.com/realized-prices/lot/elgin-14k-yellow-gold-hunting-case-pendant-watch-0-H4MaPwg_m (Size 0 sold in 2016 for $500)
PRICING:
I have concluded that your little watch is very finely made and in very fine condition and think if you offered it at auction in today’s watch market, it would sell in the fair market range of $500-$600. Retail prices of course would be somewhat higher. A beautiful little gem of a watch. Thank you again for sending it into mearto .com to be appraised.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving.
My best,
David