Aurora marked extra

[s. smith]

I bought a 18s Aurora today at the flea market It has a private label dial and the movement is marked extra,,,Is the extra marking common on the Aurora,s i don,t see anything that looks much different or unusal about the movement..
thanks in advance:)

[Kent]

It sure sounds uncommon to me. How about posting some pictures and giving a few details?

[Fred Hansen]

Greg Frauenhoff has put together a nice book on Aurora watches and in the book writes that most grade 3 movements were marked "Extra". According to the book the grade 3 are 11 jewel watches in both keywind/keyset and stemwind/lever-set, and with some being half jeweled and others being jeweled in pairs.

I've seen these Auroras marked Extra and wouldn't say they are really rare but compared to many watches certainly not real common either. Greg's book has production estimates and from these it looks like the number of grade 3 marked "Extra" is at least 2500 and with a few runs being unknown as to whether marked "Extra" or not so the number could be a little higher.

I'd also be interested in the details of the watch ... serial number, jewel count and stem or keywind, and what the private-label is.

Thanks!

Fred

[s. smith]

I will post pictures of the watch later today ,i did notice it is marked adjusted and has 4 timning screws on the balance..

[Kent]

"... marked adjusted and has 4 timning screws on the balance.

This is getting better and better. :thumb:

[s. smith]

Fred and Kent i was wrong about the way the movement was marked i looked at several watches i bought sorry about that..

Here is the pictures if anyone is keeping up with the numbers on these .

Frist the dial a private label .

[s. smith]

The movement is a 11 jewel and does have 4 timning screws and is marked patent pinion not adjusted as i frist thought ,marked 11 jewel and extra ,,i pulled the dial for a quick look there is nothing unusally under the dial,,all the plate jeweling is from the bridge side of the movement.. i also checked the serial# under the balance and it matches the serial# on the plates.

I still wonder why it,s marked extra could be beacuse of the quailty in the balance as it has the timning screws which is always seen on the better quailty movements..

[Fred Hansen]

Thanks for posting Samie, this matches with what is in Greg's book as an 11 jewel hunting case grade 3.

He lists this run as ranging from serial numbers 31101-31400 and did not have noted whether or not this run was marked "Extra", but did have noted that other nearby grade 3 runs were.

The private-label name on your watch is also listed in Greg's book as a dial marking he has seen.

Nice watch and thanks for posting!

Fred

[Greg Frauenhoff]

Hi,

Nice Aurora.

Near as I can tell, based on period sales literature and surviving watches, Aurora used the "Extra" designation to differentiate their "regular" 11 jewel gilt grade from a slightly better one. The slightly better one (marked "Extra") had jewels in settings (as opposed to "unset" (i. e. burnished directly into the plate) or with "imitation settings" (same as burnished, but with decorative circular engraving around the jewel and non-functional jewel screws)), a more fancily finished balance bridge, and a dial with 5 minute numbers.

So far as I can recall, all 18 size Aurora watches came with balances having 4 meantime screws, so this feature is not unusual.

Hope this helps,

Greg

P. S. I would have replied sooner, but spent a few days in the hills. Made it to the top of Mt. Shavano (142xx feet) and am still a little sore. It was my 11 year old son Harry's first 14er.

[Greg Frauenhoff]

FWIW, there are 3 different varities of 11 jewel gilt Aurora watches marked "Extra" on the barrel bridge: two stem winders (open face and hunting) and a key winder. I've also seen one 15j Adjusted nickel Aurora marked "Extra" on the balance bridge.