Expert: Melvin Mills - 7/9/2009

Question
I have an Illinois Watch Co Springfield 17 jewels Number 1822431.  Case number seems to be 8688.  On the back of the case (not the watch) is number 1273890 Wadsworth Warranted 20 Years.  There are some scratched numbers in the back of the case X-6244-4   X6492-4   and 233/TO further along counterclockwise  is 1768   150455-41   1438.  I think this watch may have been given to my spouse's great grandfather when he retired from the Chattanooga Railroad company.  Any information you can give me would be appreciated.  I slwo have an old Elgin Natl Watch Co Number 900423.  And an Elgin Natl Watch Co U.S.A. 17 Jewels Adjusted  29486312 is the number.  The back of the case which says Elgin Streamline Wadsworth Quality 14 Karat Gold Filled.  The number on the hingec case is 7263750.  Thank you for your help.  My spouse passed away after a long illness and I want very much to pass these watches on to the grandchildren with a bit of the history.  The last watch I mention is half-dollar size and the other two are just a tad larger than a silver dollar.  Thanks again Bunny

Answer
Bunny,

Based on the serial number 1822431, it was made in 1905.

those numbers you see around the case are from watchmakers.  After a watchmaker worked on a watch, he would put a mark on it.  This was not standardized so each mark is only meaningful to the watchmaker who put it there.  Each had his own code.


warranted 20 years signifies that the watch is gold filled.  The gold was guaranteed not to wear through to the base metal for 20 years.

Illinois Watch Co. is a well respected company.  The watches are very collectible.

In 1870 the Illinois Springfield Watch Company was founded and established in Springfield, Illinois by John C. Adams, John T. Stuart, John Williams, William B. Miller, and John W. Bunn, George Black and George Passfield.

John T. Stuart was a Springfield lawyer and former partner of Abraham Lincoln.  John Williams was president of the First National bank of Springfield.  William B. Miller was a local merchant.  John B. Bunn, who along with his brother owned a grocery business.

The company produced its first watch in 1872 named the "Stuart" after the companys founder.  The company manufactured many lines of watches with varying quality, under different names, all being Illinois.   The early models were Key wind and Key set and are quite collectible today.  They later produced an extensive line of extrelemy fine and accurate "Railroad Quality" watches like the "Bunn Special"

In 1879 the company, due to financial difficulties, was reorganized and the name changed to the Springfield Illinois Watch Company.

By 1885 the company name was changed yet again to the Illinois Watch Company.

In the late 20's it was purchased by the Hamilton Watch Company.  The Illinois factory continued to produce watches for Hamilton until 1932 (the year the last true Illinois was made).  

From 1933 to 1939 Hamilton produced "Illinois" watches in Hamilton Factories.  Some of these watches were not cased and sold untl upwards of a decade later.

Your Elgin watch is from 1881.   That is a good watch too.

Elgin was founded in 1864, right as the civil war was coming to an end. The first watch Elgin made, an 18 sized B W Raymond railroad grade watch, was finished in 1867 and over the next 100 years, they went on to produce about 60 million watches. Elgin produced their first wristwatch around 1910, leading most other American watch companies by many years.
Elgin was originally called the "National Watch Company". The name never really stuck and in 1874, they changed their name to the "Elgin National Watch Company" because most of the watch trade and public were calling them "watches from Elgin". They kept that name until the late 1960s when they stopped producing watches and changed their name to the "Elgin National Industries".

Elgin was founded on the idea of mass producing high quality pocket watches using machine made, interchangeable parts. Up until around 1850, watches were made mostly by hand, which meant that if a part broke, you had to find someone with the tools and skill to make a new part. Elgin realized that there was a large market for good watches that could be sold and repaired relatively cheaply using factory made replacement parts that didn't require hand adjusting.

Elgin never made the very highest quality watches in the world, nor did they make the very cheapest, but together with Waltham (aka The American Watch Company), they dominated the vast middle ground of the watch market.

Today, collecting Elgin watches is quite popular. Because Elgin produced so many watches and produced so many spare parts, they can still be easily bought and fixed, so even a 100 year old Elgin can be used, with care, on a daily basis. While mechanical watches can't compete with quartz watches for accuracy, there is something about having a watch that ticks that a quartz watch just can't replace.

Kind regard,

Melvin