what is this??

[Greg Frauenhoff]

More than likely your watch is what collectors call a "private label" or "jewelers' contract". That is, it was ordered by a jeweler from a watch company (such as Elgin, Illinois, Waltham, etc.) with instructions to have his/her own name, rather than the makers name, engraved on the plates and written on the dial.

Hope this helps,

Greg (from Sedalia, Colorado)

[Kent]

It would help if you could post a picture of the movement, Then, we might be able to tell who made it from the shape and appearence of the plates.

If posting a picture is beyond you, you can attach it to an e-mail to me (by clicking on the speeding envelope at the top of this post) and I'll post it for you.

Good luck,
Kent

[Kent]

Here is a picture of Harry's "Mildred-Gentry Bard" watch:

http://www.knology.net/~ksinger/harry_brockman.jpg

I've checked in "American Pocket Watches Beginning to End...1830-1980, Identification and Price Guide,"Roy Ehrhardt & William Meggers, Jr., Heart of America Press, Kansas City, MO, 1987 (A new edition is still in print, see Heart of America Press (http://www.hoapress.com)). It looks a lot like a 6-size, model 2 Elgin, shown in EA 250, page 92.

Checking the serial number at Wayne's Elgin Watches (http://www.midwestcs.com/elgin/databases/index.html) website, the watch seems to be a 7-jewel grade 206, made in about 1899. Perhaps Wayne can comment on this.

Kent

[This message has been edited by Kent (edited 03-01-2001).]

[Larry Jones 98326]

hanahou,

You stated that the case is a Fahys 14K Monarch. This is a good quality, fairly early case. The marking is somewhat ambiguous. The case is actually a good quality gold filled (gold layer over brass), not solid 14K as the name would seem to imply. Whether this was intentionally done, who knows.

Nice watch, and one I've not seen before.


thanks, Larry

[Kent]

Oops:

I forgot about the case. Here's an ad for the Fahys 14K Monarch grade case from 1897.

http://www.knology.net/~ksinger/fahys_monarch_sm.jpg (http://www.knology.net/~ksinger/fahys_monarch.jpg)
Click to enlarge

Kent