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- Elgin National Watch Co. Railroad Grade Pocket Watch Very Unusual Piece Beautiful Case Engraving ca. 1881
Elgin National Watch Co. Railroad Grade Pocket Watch Very Unusual Piece Beautiful Case Engraving ca. 1881
This Men's size 16s 15 Jewel railroad pocket watch is yellow gold filled and is triple hinged: obverse, dust cover and back cover; speaking of the back, there is a really nice engraving of a train. Funny thing, a couple weeks ago I was telling someone that I would never curate a pocket watch with a train engraving. I just think they are done in bad taste, others love them. Well. I took one look at this engraving and was impressed and it lifted my mood. Take a close look, there are subtle design differences that makes that train very pleasing to the eye. It's amazing how something can change your mind just like that. Moving on then, this watch has a very classy dial, very well done and is single sunk white porcelain; I do not see any flaws with this dial - no cracks or hairlines noted. For those you who are thinking I'm crazy to think this watch meets railroad grade. But you must remember that it was not until 1883 that the USA went to standard time and this watch was made just two years prior and is listed as railroad grade in all available sources. The watch is lever set at 5 o'clock instead of being about 2 O'clock that we are usually see on a railroad watch. The movement is a thing of glory. It's like the Greek Gods were passing by and dripped gold everywhere. Seriously, this is one of the best gold gilt jobs I've ever seen and the unique design of the movement makes the whole package very attractive. The nice thing about it is that there were only 7,000 total movements in this grade, that is extremely small and makes this a rare piece from a high volume player. The production run is 1000 I believe. So to sum things up, here we have a pre-standards railroad grade 16s pocket watch from Elgin. The case, dial and movement are all stunning, it's really a trifecta find if you also like the watch. Well, I do no think it will disappoint. We just serviced the watch March 2019 and it is running as if it was just created. Thank you.
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Grade: 49
Manufacturer:Elgin Manufacturer Location:Elgin, Illinois Movement Serial Number:891611 Grade:49 Model:1 Class:17 Estimated Production Year:1881 Run Quantity:1,000 Total Production:7,000 Size:16s Jewels:15j Movement Configuration:Convertible Movement Finish:Gilt Movement Setting:Lever Plate:3/4 Plate Barrel:Going Train:Quick Regulator:Moseley Hairspring:Flat Adjusted:Yes Railroad Grade:Yes U.S. Patents:185867 Movement Markings:Elgin Natl Watch Co. Adjusted Patent Pinion Data Research:c.1950 Elgin Serial List |