Hello Betty,
Thank you for sending in this interesting wrist watch to mearto.com for an appraisal. I shall try to help you with that today.
TITLE:
Unisex, stainless steel and gilt base metal, mechanical, manually wound, two time zone, two crown wristwatch with dual dials and two movements, "Elgin" model, made in Germany, most likely by the Pforzheimer Uhren-Rohwerke, Pforzheim, Germany circa 1970-1979.
DESCRIPTION:
CASE – A horizontal ovoid television shaped wristwatch case with broad gilt metal bezel, two fluted time setting crowns, one to either side of the case, snap on stainless steel back cover, the latter marked, “base metal bezel, stainless steel back”. There are short harp shaped lugs and black leather strap.
DIAL – Champagne colored ovoid dial marked at the top Elgin with an ‘E’, a symbol that the old Elgin Watch Company in Illinois never used. Two round dial sit side by side. The one on the left is a black dial with luminous baton hours, steel baton hands and is marked 17 jewels, while the one on the right is champagne colored with black baton hours, and steel baton hands, also marked 17 jewels. Both round dials are marked “Germany”.
MOVEMENT – Unfortunately not shown – My guess is that there are two small but separate mechanical movements, each with 17 jewels. It can be set separately and therefore two time zones can easily be measured as when one is on vacation and wanting to keep the current time and the time in another zone such as back at home.
CONDITION:
CASE – Fair – there are a host of scratches on the gilt bezel and the steel back cover. There are signs of oxidation around the bezel where the gilding is wearing off the underlying case.
DIAL – Both dials appear to be in good condition.
MOVEMENT – Not Shown and could not be properly evaluated but I will assume that the movement is mechanical and not quartz, original to this case, genuine and perhaps functional.
HISTORY:
Understanding this watch requires some understanding of where ‘American’ Elgin was at this time. The original, obsolete factory of the Elgin Watch Company of Elgin, Illinois, closed in 1964, after having produced half of the total number of pocket watches manufactured in the United States (dollar-type not included). The plant was razed in 1966. In 1964 the company relocated most manufacturing operations to a new plant in Blaney, a town near Columbia, South Carolina which renamed itself ‘Elgin’ of South Carolina. A leased building in Elgin that housed offices as well as casing, fitting, shipping, service, and trade material departments was maintained until about 1970.
All US manufacturing was discontinued in 1968, and the rights to the name "Elgin" were sold and subsequently resold multiple times over the years. One of the companies to purchase the use of the Elgin name was in Pforzheim, Germany, i.e. Pforzheimer Uhren-Rohwerke GmbH (abbreviated PUW). This company had been in the watch business since the 1920s and did well until WWII when allied bombers destroyed their facilities.
Post WWII they attempted a comeback and made mechanical wristwatches through the 1970s and tried to stay afloat by also making quartz watches in the 1970s to match the Swiss output.
They owned rights to the Elgin name and made many models using that well-known name on the dial with their own E-logo. Most of their movement were manually-wound using 17 jewels, lever escapement with pallets, Rufa (German) a form of anti-shock protection. This German company appears not to have survived the quartz revolution and disappears during or shortly after the 1980 years.
The rights to Elgin eventually were purchased by M.Z. Berger Inc., which manufactures its watches in China and distributes them outside traditional watch dealerships. Therefore, Elgin-branded watches produced after 1968 have no connection to the Elgin Watch Company.
In addition, during the 1970s there were many watch brands that used quartz mechanisms to have two time zone watches. All are quite cheap on the market.
COMPARABLES:
~https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/24437610_a-lady-s-wristwatch-with-two-time-zones-on-a-leather (sold for 10 GB Pounds)
~ https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/24437612_a-lady-s-wristwatch-with-two-time-zones-and-an-oblong (sold for 10 GB Pounds)
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/3777503_49-two-time-zone-movado-retailed-by-r-chablos-wg (made of 14k white gold this Movado sold for $1500 and dates to the 1970s.)
~ https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/66652084_gentlemenasa-gold-baume-and-mercier-dual-time (passed and did not sell)
~https://www.amazon.com/Gotham-Womens-Gold-Tone-Leather-GWC15091GB/dp/B006FXO4MQ/ref=asc_df_B006FXO4MQ/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=241977816173&hvpos=1o2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=14799645024338656076&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=21164&hvtargid=aud-799711277694:pla-727544427517&psc=1 (Similar watch sells for $50)
~https://www.ebay.com/itm/Seiko-7F22-5010-Dual-Time-Mens-Vintage-Classic-Two-Tone-Dress-Watch-FRESH-BATT/223773567482?epid=18035570665&hash=item3419f1a9fa:g:MusAAOSwcOBd4icv (Seiko offered at $180- no buyer.)
https://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-SUPER-RARE-60S-WAKMANN-SWISS-DUAL-TWIN-WORLD-TIME-ZONE-WATCH-MINTY/392050638357?hash=item5b4809fe15:g:LB8AAOSwlSBbBsLZ (a Swiss example, look at the photo of the two movements. Did not sell)
~https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Piaget-18k-Dual-Time-Zone-Watch-w-Television-Case/143448730061?hash=item216635e9cd:g:LYQAAOSwzO9d1soh (Here is a solid gold Piaget in the same design layout as your Elgin, but it also did not sell.)
~https://www.ebay.com/itm/Old-Vintage-Valentine-Collectible-Blacelet-Design-Watch-Dual-Display-Time-Zone/264315735529?hash=item3d8a720de9:g:RyAAAOSwgaxc0~2N (offered at $154 with no buyers.)
PRICING:
Therefore, despite the fact that I cannot find a twin to your example, although the Piaget comes close, this German made Elgin was obviously a popular model during the quartz years of 1970-1990 throughout the European Continent. It bore no relationship to the famous Elgin Company and truly became just another mechanical European watch in the 1970s trying to help its company survive the quartz crisis. PUW failed in 1990.
Given the lack of watchmaker name recognition and the current condition of the watch I feel that the fair market value would range in the $100-$150 range in working condition. The retail market may be a bit higher. If I were you I would not put any money into this watch in terms of repair since it would not be worth it.
I hope that this has been of some help to you in understanding who when and where this watch was made. Thank you again for using mearto.com for this appraisal.
My best,
David