Hello Courtney,
Thank you for sending in your pocket watch to mearto.com for an appraisal. I shall try to help you with that today.
TITLE:
Gent’s, Size 16, silvered nickel, pendant wound and lever set, open face, Art Deco pocket watch, railroad grade with triple sunk dial, Bunn Special grade, model 11, Serial number 4137433, made by the Illinois Watch Company, Springfield, Illinois, circa 1922.
DESCRIPTION:
Case: 2”/16s, three leaf, silvered nickel, round case with embossed edge bezel and Art Deco broad Greek key ornamented stem on the fluted suppressed ball pendant and oval bow fixed at the twelve position. The back of the case is polished silvered metal with an area in the center of oxidation. The inside of the cover is not shown. . .
Dial: A white enameled triple sunk dial with bold upright Arabic hours, open bar minutes, sunken subsidiary seconds dial @6, sunken dial center printed ‘Illinois’ (in a slight arc), and steel continental “Spade” hands. . .
Movement: A damascened nickel split three quarter pate movement, Size 16, the Bunn Special grade, model 11, mad in a production run of 400 such movements, this with a serial number of 4137433, made in 1922, having a ruby jewel count of 23, with double roller, 48 hour motor barrel, pendant wound and lever set, adjusted to six positions and with a bimetallic balance wheel adjusted to temperature as well, Swan-neck micro-regulator for adjusting the speed of the movement and of Railroad Grade.
Condition: Case - Has signs of moderate rust and silver oxidation on the back cover. Dial is very good but has a hairline fracture at the 18-minute marker. Movement – Excellent and considered functional.
COMPARABLES:
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/83737335_illinois-bunn-special-railroad-watch (sold in 2020 for $180)
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/83737326_illinois-bunn-special-railroad-watch (sold for $160 in 2020)
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/79836285_1915-illinois-bunn-special-railroad-pocket-watch (sold for $300 in a gold-filled case)
https://www.barnebys.com/realized-prices/lot/illinois-watch-co-23-jewel-model-11-man-s-pocket-watch-Mg8R0NazC (two Illinois watches, one of them the Bunn Special model 11 sold for $497 in 2018)
https://www.barnebys.com/realized-prices/lot/1921-illinois-bunn-special-railroad-pocket-watch-TxV7chhS7x9 (sold in 2020 for $400)
HISTORY:
http://www.railswest.com/time/illinois.html (An excellent summary of the history of the Bunn grade, Illinois watches.)
PRICING:
Like most other watches there has ben a weakening market over the past dozen years and this has affected the fine Illinois railroad watches also. Like most other watches I have seen their fair market value drop by about 65% over the past 20 years. Th fair market value of your example with the damage on the outer case would range from $350-$400. I hope this was of some help to you in understanding this particular pocket watch.
Thank you for choosing mearto.com for your appraisal.
My best,
David