Hello Kathy,
Thank you for sending in this pocket watch to mearto.com for an appraisal.
TITLE:
Ladies/gent’s, size 6, 14k sold gold, pendant wound and lever set, savonette hunting case pocket watch, Grade 95, model 1, class 52, made by the Elgin National Watch Company, Elgin, Illinois, made circa 1891.
DESCRIPTION:
Case: Size 6 (37.6mm), four leaf, engraved 14K gold case (from the client). There is a fluted gold ball pendant and round bow placed at the three position (savonette) opposite the case hinge. The outer covers are both heavily engraved, but the photos are of very poor quality that I cannot fully describe them. On cover has a central cameo in the center for the owner’s initials, but has been left blank. There are crisscrossed geometric figures to either side, and a central rosette surrounds the round cameo. The outer areas are filled with foliate designs. The other cover, likely the front cover has an engraving in the center which is totally illegible in the photos and cannot be described while the periphery of the design repeats that of the other cover. The interior of the covers which contain the marks of the casemaker and the gold marks and quality are not shown.
Dial: Totally a blur but this is round white enameled dial with black Roman hours and a closed minute track to the outside, sunken subsidiary seconds dial, steel Continental style Spade hands and the upper dial signed Elgin in the Olde English style.
Movement: A gilt brass three quarter plate movement, the Grade 95, model 1, Class 52 made by the Elgin National Watch Company of Elgin Illinois. The serial number
4199764 indicates the year of production as 1891 made in a run of 8000 such movements. It is made with 7 jewels, size 6 movement, made for a hunting case configuration, pendant wound and lever set, quick train (a movement that vibrates at a rate over 18000 beats per hour), going barrel (implies that the watch continues to run during active winding of the spring), bimetallic balance wheel for temperature compensation (provides accuracy in cold and hot weather), plain regulator with engraved regulator bridge to make the movement faster and slower. The movement is properly signed and numbered.
CONDITION:
Case – Hard to tell from the photos but appears to be in fine condition
Dial – Blurry photos but will assume the dial has no fractures
Movement -Appears original genuine and assumed in working order.
HISTORY:
Elgin History:
The Elgin National Watch Company was founded in 1864 in Elgin, Illinois as the National Watch Company. In 1874 the name was changed to the Elgin National Watch Company. Between 1864 and sometime in the 1960s, Elgin manufactured tens of millions of pocket and wrist watches. The Elgin National Watch Company was for a time, one of the largest industrial concerns in the world. Elgin pocket watches from the early years are particularly interesting because of the methods and philosophy of the Elgin Company. Elgin used what were at the time quite advanced tools, techniques and labor practices to achieve a very high quality product, in high volumes, at a relatively affordable price. Elgin watches were created using mechanized, repeatable processes, organized quality control and standardized, interchangeable, parts. These things are all common practices in industry today, but not so at that time. The result was a product of high quality made in large quantities that dwarfed that of Elgin's competitors. Prior to Elgin's time, watches were made completely by hand, frequently by a single craftsman, from start to finish. Repairs could only be completed on such watches by someone with sufficient skill to fabricate replacement parts, from scratch, from raw material. Elgin watches on the other hand, were mass manufactured and highly standardized. Spare parts were provided by Elgin that were drop-in replacements for the originals. Elgin was extremely successful with this strategy. In fact, the company introduced more than half the watches made in America from 1920-1928. An Elgin advertisement in 1928 claimed that there were more than 14,418 retail jewelers in the United States and all but 12 carried Elgin watches.
COMPARABLES:
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/130666297_elgin-grade-286-partsrepair-pocket-watch-6-size-7-j-14k (Failed to reach the starting bid of $830 in 2022)
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/126820346_14k-gold-elgin-pocket-watch
(Passed at auction, failed to reach a $400 starting bid)
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/122162143_an-elgin-14k-gold-hunting-case-pocket-watch (Sold FOR $1000 in 2022)
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/119835055_14k-tri-colored-hunter-case-elgin-pocket-watch (three colored 14k gold watch sold for $550)
PRICING:
The watch is solid 14k gold which was told to me by this client. It has a wonderful looking engraved case. The fair market value would fall into the $750-$850 range.
Retail price would be about double that amount.
Thank you for choosing mearto.com for your appraisal.
My best,
David