Hi watch720:
Welcome to the NAWCC American Pocket Watch Message Board!
Checking the references listed in the Illinois Watch Company Encyclopedia article (and to be confirmed when you show us pictures), Illinois movement serial number 3873492 (hopefully, you gave us the movement serial number and not that on the case) can be seen to be a 12-size, model 1, grade No. 274, open face movement adjusted to temperature, isochronism and three positions and built in about 1921 (give or take a little). This is a good, medium grade movement that was fairly popular. Over 58,000 were built between about 1911 and 1926.
Your watch case seems to be
gold-filled and was made by the Star Watch Case Co. They were known to have made 18K gold-filled cases.
Unless you know that it has been cleaned and oiled within the last few years, you should have the watch serviced before running it very much. It may be helpful for you to read the Encyclopedia article on Watch Service and its related links, especially the one to the
message board thread on the subject. The Encyclopedia article on Choosing a Pocket Watch Repair Person may be useful as well.
It is normal to compare the cost of watch service and repair of a pocket watch to the value of that watch as a collectable in order to decide whether or not to have the work done. However, when the watch is a family heirloom, the issue is much more difficult to judge, and depends upon one's sense of family history. It is one thing to have and display grandfather's watch (perhaps in an inexpensive glass watch dome). It is quite another to be able to wear it (running and keeping reasonable time) on important occasions, especially family occasions. Whatever it costs to service and repair a watch today, it will cost more (with parts being a little harder to find) ten, twenty or thirty years from now when you might want to pass it on to the next generation. Nobody can really advise you which way to go on this subject. Of course, personal financial circumstances must be considered. Each person must decide on his/her own.
Having gathered and printed out information about a family watch, it is a wise idea to write out as much as you know about the family member to whom the watch originally belonged. Then, add the names and relationships of the family members who passed it down to the current holder. Make up a booklet with this and all of the watch information and try to keep it with the watch. You might even include a CD or, better yet, a USB thumb drive with copies of the pictures or information, in addition to the printouts. Even though they may not be readable 100 years from now, some more recent descendent may transfer the files to the then current format and media. This way, the watch has real family heritage instead of it just being an old family watch, the identity and relationship of the original owner having been lost in the distant past.
I'm sorry to say that as it is noted in the "
Ads and Value Rule" linked to at the top of this page, in the top menu bar, we permit "
No Valuation in Education Forums." Should you wish, a valuation forum is available, as described in that link. As an alternative, knowing the proper description of your watch (which hopefully we can provide) you should be able to use a Google Search to find similar watches offered by internet dealers, or on eBay, and see what they are selling for. Alternately, check the value in the
Complete Price Guide to Watches, No 27, C. Shugart, T. Engle and R. Gilbert, Tinderbox Press, Mount Pleasant, SC, 2007. A new edition comes out each year in January or February, so ask for the latest edition. The book is available at libraries, at most major booksellers and online at the
NAWCC Gift Shop (ask about the current edition). Condition matters! Also, a solid gold case instead of a nickel or gold-filled case will make a difference as well.
Please feel free to ask about anything that isn't clear to you.
Good luck,
