Whilst being an iconic piece of time-keeping, with their Alice in Wonderland feel, antique Elgin pocket watches also have investment potential. If you come across an Elgin watch in a second hand shop or the bottom of your drawers, it’s well worth getting its value checked out. We’ve dug out some investment tips for those who think they may have a prize find!
Founded in Illinois in 1864 in the post civil war days, the Elgin National Watch Company lasted over a hundred years finally stopping keep time in 1968. The company was a giant in in the world of antique pocket watches with their precision engineering and fine craftsmanship. Now Elgin watches are highly sought after. Especially those in working order.
The best way to find out how much your Elgin watch is worth is to take it to a professional watch valuer, but for some quick tips on how much yours might be worth read on. Even if it only has scrap value, it’s likely it will be worth something.
In 1864, at the end of the Civil War, the Elgin National Watch Company was founded in Elgin, Illinois. It was set up by Philo Carpenter, Howard Z. Culver, Benjamin W. Raymond, George M. Wheeler, Thomas S. Dickerson and W. Robbins to compete with the American Waltham Watch Co. In fact, in its early days, the founders convinced several Waltham watchmakers to swap loyalties and come to work for the new company.
The Elgin National Watch Company helped to establish a robust American watch manufacturing industry. The Elgin National Watch Company Observatory was built by the company in 1910 making it possible to maintain precise timekeeping in all their watches. The company produced US made self-winding wristwatch movements, beginning with the 607 and 618 calibres (bumper wind) and the calibres 760 (30 jewels) and 761 (27 jewels). By the time Elgin ceased operation in 1968, it had produced millions of watches.
Railroad grade watches
Following the great train disaster in America in 1891 (the tragedy occurred due to a faulty timepiece), Elgin (and a number of other watch brands, such as Waltham and Hamilton) produced watches to a new set of standards. To qualify as railroad standard, watches were required to meet the following criteria:
- Be 16S or 18S (size)
- Have 17 or more jewels
- Be lever set
- Have an open face case, with the stem at 12 o’clock
- Be adjustable to 5 or more positions
- Have bold legible Arabic numerals on the dial
Be aware if you are purchasing a railroad grade watch that some will be described as railway grade when in fact they aren’t so it’s worth check out the facts with an expert.
What to look for then putting a value on your Antique pocket watch
- Have the data! Get your facts straight about your watch’s model, age, size, grade and quality.
- The number of jewels: Inside a true antique watch, gemstones or ‘jewels’ are used as bearings in the watch mechanism, reducing friction and wear of the watch mechanism. The higher the quality of the watch mechanism, the more jewels it will have, and the more valuable it will be. Some watches have up to 30 jewels. Below 15 jewels is considered a lower-grade watch. It’s not the jewels themselves that have the value, it’s the performance of the watch achieved with a higher number of jewels.
- Does the watch work? A watch that is in working order will generally be of more value than one that needs a repair. It’s that straight forward.
- Condition. Dents, scratches and damaged dials will all devalue your Elgin watch. If the watch is badly damaged, but otherwise meets all the investment potential, you might want to consider restoration work. In this case always employ a Master Watchmaker with experience of Elgin pocket watches.
- Elgin watch serial numbers. Serial number give clues to the date of manufacture for a vintage Elgin pocket watch. You need to open the watch and get the serial number off the movement itself. Elgin serial numbers are at least 5 characters long and may start with a letter. You can find information about Elgin watch models here. As a general rule, the older the watch is the higher the value.
words Al Woods
