illionois pocket watch seacring for info

[vandd]

hello all,
i am getting from a friend of mine a 17 jewel Illionois Springfield pocket watch 167 and with the numbers of 5351387 and from what he says on the case it is marked illionios watch case co spartan 0806006 any help would be great. thanks much

[Fred Hansen]

The grade 167 was the latest 16 size 17 jewel Illinois Watch Co. product and I believe all of these were produced after the purchase by Hamilton Watch Co. of the Illinois Watch Company.

Your watch at 5.351 million serial number was produced in about 1930, again in the period when the Illinois Watch Co. was owned by the Hamilton Watch Co. which had taken over Illinois production at the beginning of 1928 but were still producing watches in Springfield with the "Illinois Watch" name. This serial number also lists in Russ Snyder's Illinois database as a pendent-set model 7 version of this grade, and would be one of 9000 produced in this configuration between 1930 and 1932.

The Illinois watches with grade numbers in the 160's are the 161 (and 161-Elinvar), 161A, 161B, 163 (and 163-Elinvar), 163A, 167, and 169. The common trait of all these watches is that they are late grades that were produced under Hamilton Watch Co. ownership of the Illinois name. The last digit of the grade number corresponds with the last digit in the jewel count of the watch ... so the 161 matches to the 21 jewel Bunn Special, the 163 to the 23 jewel Bunn Special, the 167 to a 17 jewel grade, and the 169 to a 19 jewel grade. Also of note is that these movements are signed with the name "Illinois Watch" rather than "Illinois Watch Co." (I have heard there may be a few exceptions to this name rule, but I haven't seen one myself yet).

I believe the Illinois Watch Case Co. "Spartan" cases were base-metal in content, and these were one of the more inexpensive options that would have been available to house the watch.

Fred

p.s. I mentioned the Russ Snyder database above, and this is the best source for production figures of Illinois watches and this is a CD database that was put together by Russ Snyder and is distributed through NAWCC Chapter 149 (if interested contact Ch. 149 President Jon Hanson at jonontime@aol.com for the database).

[Fred Hansen]

An interesting "late" feature you will see with the grade 167 is a friction set jewel setting on the balance.

On the 167 train jewels of the watch will be in screwed down jewel settings, but the balance jewel setting will be friction set into the plate. This arrangement is unusual to 16 size Illinois production and I believe is only shared with the grade 169.

This "late" feature of friction set jewel settings was taken a step further with the final Bunn Special grade, the 161-B, when the plate jewel settings as well as the balance jewel were friction set.

Fred

[vandd]

thanks for this great info you gave me, i am curently buying many old pocket watches/wristwatches from an old friend of mine, and i will probly be posting more questions soon hopefully.:)