Elgin pocket watch dating

Pocket Watch Serial Number Lookup Database

Brief History: Elgin National Watch Company

Here are a few tips to find information about your pocket watch: Always input the serial number from the pocket watch movement the "guts" of the watch. Never use the serial number from the case or any other part. If the serial number includes a letter, enter it along with the number when using the lookup feature. Many pocket watch case backs screw off. Others may require a dull wide blade to pry or pop the cover.

Be careful not to scratch or damage the movement. Always select the correct manufacturer, which is usually stamped on the watch movement. If the manufacturer is not listed on the site, you may have a "private label" watch or it may not be American-made. Understand that many companies did not keep accurate or complete records.

As a result, information displayed on this site may have inaccuracies. This is to be expected, and we have included an option to report inaccurate information on the result pages so the database can be continually improved. This was simply two layers of rolled gold covering a brass interior to make it look like gold. Some real ones were made though and they would be worth considerably more.

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  • How to Find Info About Your Pocket Watch.

Elgin also made a number of watches for a lady primarily to wear as jewelry. These are also a very collectible range of watches. In my opinion they still make a great collection even today and worth investing in. If you are lucky enough to come across one of these at a sensible price then take advantage of that, as these do tend to grow in value. I have been asked by quite a few people now how to go about opening your watch.

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As you can imagine there are quite a few different types and they all open slightly differently. Some of them you simply turn the gold outer frame and they will then screw apart. I would avoid this as it will only allow dust in. It will be necessary though if you are trying to work on it. Most Elgin watches open by pressing down on a small indent on the top left of the watch and the case will click open.

I have included a video below that shows a gentleman opening three different watches. There is a lot to know about these older watches and although pocket watches may now seem antiquated, they still can have considerable value. These were made at a time when watches were not affordable to the general public. Only men and women of considerable wealth could even consider owning one of these. It was companies like Waltham and Elgin who introduced mass production and automation.

By creating standard sized parts, and then producing them on machines, the cost of physical labour dropped massively. That also meant the prices dropped and suddenly anyone who wanted a watch could have a good chance of obtaining one. It was revolutionary in its time.

They maintained high standards as well as accuracy was vital to the business world at that time. The railroads especially played a huge part in this drive for accuracy. The Elgin National Watch company certainly played a major part in this huge production of good quality watches. Sadly it was eventually to be low price competitors from other countries that was to bring about the demise of the company as well. Cheap labour from other poorly paid countries could produce even cheaper watches and Elgin simply did not change their production methods.

That in turn meant that they could simply not survive. Still they certainly left a great legacy behind and many of us love and cherish these wonderful timepieces. I will always be looking for and producing as much content as I can find about these. If you have any questions or would like to make a comment please feel free to do just that.

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I have also done some articles on pocket watches generally and especially how to clean, maintain and repair them. At one stage late on in the company Elgin also started to import watches from Switzerland.

Elgin Pocket Watch General Information

They became known as Swiss Elgins and you can read about those by clicking here. Many people have asked me about getting one that has stopped working repaired.

Recent Elgin Watch Lookups

Rather than try to cover that off right here, I have done a full detailed article on that, which you can read by clicking here. Please feel free to browse through the other articles on the site and I hope you find the information we have provided here on the Elgin pocket watch useful and informative. Posted on December 30, by Elgin Staff. Kent Singer has written up a good explanation of how to open a watch case. Chris Ozdoba has also written up a good explanation of how to open a watch case. Chris' explanation isn't as detailed as Kent's, but it includes pictures which can be very helpful.

Elgin Pocket Watch from 1899

Elgin Watch News If you visit this website frequently, you may be interested in some of the things that have changed recently. In theory , this should all be transparent to everyone and there should be zero downtime. If things don't go well, you might have problems connecting for a while, but rest assured that I'll try and fix any problems ASAP. The power supply on my webserver went out last night. I bought a new one, it is installed, and things appear to be working ok now. Sorry about the 12hr outage. While I'm not an expert, I believe the information on this page is correct. Please send suggestions and corrections to the webmaster.

Recent Watch Lookups

At one stage late on in the company Elgin also started to import watches from Switzerland. Need to replace a watch crystal? Note that the numbers on any part of the watch case, such as a serial number on the inside of the back cover, is a number that goes with the watch case only, and reveals nothing about the watch movement. Many people have asked me about getting one that has stopped working repaired. How Much is My Watch Worth? Elgin Production of hunter movements. Trying to understand the value of your pocket watch, or if you are considering making a purchase, it is so important to understand some key criteria.

Elgin Databases Main Page. Sometime in the next week or so, I will be moving my website from one ISP to another.