Keystone case

[mbaseman]

I just inherited an Elgin watch (SN 8434483) which has very elaborate 14k engraved Keystone case (SN 6186264). How can I date case and find out value movement and case? I need this for insurance purposes and for curiosity

[mbaseman]

I just inherited an Elgin watch (SN 8434483) which has very elaborate 14k engraved Keystone case (SN 6186264). How can I date case and find out value movement and case? I need this for insurance purposes and for curiosity

[mikeh]

Hi,

Welcome to the NAWCC Message Board!

Unfortunately, rules prevent us from discussing timepiece values on the boards. Your best bet would be to peruse eBay and look for watch similar to yours and see what they are actually selling for.

According to ww.elginwatches.org (the third w was left off of this url to prevent direct linking to the page), the movement was made in 1899. If you visit that web page, you will be able to use the serial number and get plenty of other information as well.

Cases are hard (if not impossible) to date based on serial numbers alone. If you can provide a picture, we can generally tell if the case is from the same period as the movement. At the top of the Clock section, there are instructions for posting an image on the board. However, if you prefer, you can email it to me and I will post it for you. My email address is available be clicking my name at the top left corner of this reply.

[michael chamelin]

Keystone cases are very hard to date exactly, but from information that I have recorded over the years, from other watches (mostly various factory cased 12 size watches with Keystone cases from different manufacturers such as Illinois or Hamilton) some having box and papers and/or some with vintage date engraving your case will date very very closely to 1925/26 for what it is worth. Hope this helps.