The first Elgin watch (a pocket watch) dates to 1867. The last Elgin movement made in America was produced in 1968. In between, pinning an individual Elgin down to a specific year and model can be a bit of a chore. We are severely handicapped by both the lack of legacy production records and by Elgin’s policy of not giving names to models. Starting around 1932, Elgin used model numbers to identify unique case designs. In the 1950s, the use of model numbers was supplemented by individual model names. (The model numbers remained, however, and are the key to finding replacement parts for Elgins of the period.)
Elgin Serial Numbers. The Date is in WHITE, The Serial number is in RED. How to determine the approximate year of your Pocket Watch, un-screw the back of the watch. 'The serial number is on the movement not the case'. (Example) If the numbers are 14778990 the date would be 1909. Oftentimes, a block of serial numbers would be assigned and the movement plates blanked out; then the plates would be stored in the warehouse and finished as demand required. So, it is possible that a watch could have been completed some years after the serial number date. Elgin Watches: Prices for Antique Wrist and Pocket Watches. American gold huntingcase watch, Elgin, 1887. Sold for €350 via Cortrie Spezial Auktionen (September 2015). Elgin watches, some of the most in-demand antique watches in the market today, are a perennial favorite among watch collectors.
Identification of a watch is a process, typically done as follows:
We look at each of these issues, below.
Is it really an Elgin?
Until the late 1960s, all Elgins are marked clearly on the dial with the word “Elgin.” In the late 60s and thereafter, a few models reduced the brand mark to the Elgin “E” logo, but the mark still always appeared on the dial. The only exceptions to this are the related or subsidiary brands, (discussed further on the “About Elgin” page).
The case back can also provide insight into the manufacturer. Prior to the 1960s, the inside of the case back will typically be marked with “Cased and Timed by the Elgin National Watch Co.”
Signed crowns can also be useful. The presence of a signed crown will add another piece to the puzzle, however, they were not used for all, or even the majority, of models.
Special cases:
![]() Identifying a Model
When it comes to identifying the model of a particular Elgin, the bottom line is: It’s all about the case — movements don’t determine model, case designs do. The key to the identification process is to pay attention to details. All watches of a particular model had the same case style (though the material may vary, i.e., yellow gold vs. coral gold). Pay close attention to things like the shape of the lugs, or the lines (or lack thereof) on the case. To a lesser extent, dial features, like the placement of the second hand and the shape of the sub-seconds (if any), are also very useful indicators.
Model numbers were typically stamped inside the case back, as you can see in the picture at left. Model names were not stamped on the watches and our only clues to these is through other collectors, or through visually matching watches with advertisements and (scarce) catalog materials.
Dating, based on Dial Markings
Dial markings can help narrow things down, but they don’t provide much help with model specifics.
Dating, based on Movement Serial Number
Movement serial numbers provide useful insight in the manufacturing date of the movement. This is possible because Elgin watch movements were numbered sequentially. We know the sequence numbers with confidence up to the end of 1955; these numbers are presented below. To establish the manufacture date of your movement, simply obtain the movement number then check it against the table, below.
Limitations of this identification method
Table: Movement serial numbers, by year
Founded in 1864 in Elgin, Illinois, the Elgin Watch Company (also known as the Elgin National Watch Company) was the largest American watch manufacturer in terms of total production. In fact, Elgin produced approximately half of the total number of “better quality” pocket watches manufactured in the United States. Total production over their 100 years of operation reached 60 million watches, making Elgin one of the most commonly collected vintage watches, since there are still so many examples available at reasonable prices.
Some of the organizers of the National Watch Company would later become a few of the biggest names in the American watch industry: J. C. Adams, P. S. Bartlett, D. G. Currier, Otis Hoyt, and Charles H. Mason – with financial backing from former Chicago Mayor Benjamin W. Raymond.
The factory for the National watch company was completed in 1866, and the first movement produced was an 18-size B. W. Rich dad poor dad ebook free download pdf. Raymond model, which sold in April of 1867 for the astounding price of $115. This identical watch, serial number 101, was sold at auction in New York in 1988 for $12,000.
In 1874, the company officially changed their name to the Elgin National Watch Company, and that name remained until they stopped producing watches in the early 1960’s.
The Elgin National Watch Company went out of business in 1964.
The “Working Man’s” Watch
The Elgin Watch Company’s success was not built on its production of the highest-grade watches (though some of their higher grades were high-quality, exquisitely made timepieces). Their success can instead be attributed to their huge production of low to mid-grade watches (7 to 15-jewels).
Together, with the Waltham Watch Company, they dominated the market for mid-grade watches, producing over one-million per year during their peak years of production.
Elgin watches remain extremely popular with collectors today because they are plentiful, can be purchased at reasonable prices, and can be relatively easy and cheap to repair, due to the large number of watches and parts available.
Elgin shipped their first wristwatch in 1910, and later manufactured the first wrist watch to be qualified for railroad service: the grade 730A B. W. Raymond.
Throughout their history, the Elgin National Watch Company was known for horological innovations. In 1958, they introduced the “DuraBalance,” an ingenious design for a free-sprung balance (no regulator pins) which used spiral balance arms and small weights to govern the moment of inertia of the balance. They also produced the only American-made automatic wristwatch movements: grades 607, 618, 760, and 761. These movements featured bi-directional, full-rotor winding, and had two automatic winding gear ratios, which were automatically engaged as the mainspring tension increased.
The contributions of the Elgin National Watch Company to American Horological industry cannot be overstated. Many Elgin watches that were made over 100 years ago are still providing reliable and accurate daily service to their proud owners.
Ladies Elgin Watches Serial Number LookupSwiss Elgin Watches
During the last few years that Elgin was in business (late 50’s through mid-60’s), they began to reduce their US production and began importing Swiss watch movements that were finished and labeled as Elgin watches.
Elgin Watch Cases: Illinois Watch Case Company
The Illinois Watch Case Company of Elgin, Illinois should not be confused with the Elgin Watch Company. The Illinois Watch Case Company (I.W.C.Co) was a major manufacture in the city of Elgin, Illinois. It manufactured watch cases under many brands, such as “Elgin Giant,” “Elgin Pride,” “Tivoli,” “Spartan,” and “Elgin Commander.”
The use of the name “Elgin” in their brand names, or marking the cases with “Elgin USA” has often led people to believe that a watch was made by the Elgin National Watch Company when it was actually made by another manufacturer, or to think that a watch no longer has its original case because it is “now in an Elgin case.” Keep in mind that watch movements and watch cases were usually made by different manufacturers. Elgin watches are entirely different than Illinois “Elgin” cases.
Elgin Pocket Watches Serial Number LookupElgin National Watch Co. Serial NumbersElgin Watches Serial Numbers 3040935
https://lymozpx.weebly.com/blog/resident-evil-6-download-torrent. In the 1930s, Elgin began using a letter prefix to replace the millions digits in their serial numbers, so if your Elgin watch has a serial number starting with a letter, you must determine the millions digits from the table below in order to determine the full serial number.
Year and Serial Number
![]() Elgin Watches Serial Number Lookup
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