Looking for any info on Illinois watch

[donnyp]

I recently received an Illinois pocket watch circa 1925 from my grandfather. I'm searching for any info on this family timepiece. I've been told it is 14K yellow gold Hunters case, 17 jewel, case #5691134, serial #4706787, Springfield Illinios watch company. It has gold numbers and centerpiece with white face. Any details would be appreciated. Rare or common?

[donnyp]

I recently received an Illinois pocket watch circa 1925 from my grandfather. I'm searching for any info on this family timepiece. I've been told it is 14K yellow gold Hunters case, 17 jewel, case #5691134, serial #4706787, Springfield Illinios watch company. It has gold numbers and centerpiece with white face. Any details would be appreciated. Rare or common?

[Jon Hanson]

FRED HANSEN IS YOUR MAN, DO A SEARCH AND EMAIL HIM,

[Kent]

Hi donnyp:

Welcome to the NAWCC Pocket Watch Message Board!

The Illinois Watch Company was founded in 1870 as the Springfield Watch Co. of Springfield, IL. It turned out about five million watches before being sold to the Hamilton Watch Co. of Lancaster, PA, in 1928. An interesting Historical Account of the Illinois Watch Co. (http://k_singer.home.comcast.net/illinois_watch_co.htm) is available, re-typed from the pages posted on Greg Frauenhoff's Website, as is an article on Jacob Bunn (http://members.aol.com/gfrauen10/celebrated.html), a president of the Illinois Watch Co., and son of one of the firm's founders. Brief descriptions and list prices of earlier Illinois movements may be seen online in a 530 Kb scan of an 1887 Catalog (http://static.flickr.com/27/43570061_f24bcaeb4e_b.jpg).

Hamilton continued production in Springfield for several years and then moved operations to the Hamilton plant in Lancaster. Illinois watches continued to be produced as different designs from Hamilton watches until 1949 when the name was retired.

In seeking information about a watch, it is the serial number on the movement (the "works") that is important.

Information about Illinois watches may be found in "American Pocket Watches Vol. 2, Illinois Watch Co., Encyclopedia and Price Guide," William Meggers, Jr. & Roy Ehrhardt, Heart of America Press (http://www.hoapress.com), Kansas City, MO, 1985 (may be still in print), and in Russell W Snyder's Illinois Data Base CD (http://nawcc-mb.infopop.cc/eve/ubb.x/a/tpc/f/4316035461/m/2401056421/r/8541060521#8541060521). Then, there are Oldwatch.com's Illinois Production Date Chart (http://www.oldwatch.com/Illinoisdate.html) and the PocketWatchSite's Illinois Date Table (http://www.pocketwatchsite.com/illinoisserials.html) which are an online means for determining the approximate production date of Illinois pocket watches. In general, we think of serial number lists (not just for Illinois, but for other watch manufacturers as well) to only be accurate within a year or two at best, and recognize that there are numerous exceptions wherein which the dates may be off as much as 3 years or more.

Checking the above mentioned reference CD, Illinois movement serial number 4,706,787 is a 12-size grade No. 405, adjusted to temperature. Over 389,000 of these were made during the years 1911 - 1929. This particular example dates to about 1926.

You can see a movement picture and catalog description of the grade No. 405, and see where it fit into Illinois' line of 12-size watches, on page S5 of the 1917 Oskamp-Nolting Catalog at:
www.elginwatches.com/scans/sales_catalogs/1917_Oskamp-Nolting/m_index.html

To view, go to the Elgin Watch Collectors Site Home Page atelginwatches.org, then copy and paste the address in your browser's address bar and click on 'Go'.

Good luck with a nice heirloom,