Elgin National Watch Company Hunter case pocket watch, 11 jewels, grade 10, circa 1884
Record status
Individual type · research required
Period
circa 1884
Maker / issuer
Elgin National Watch CompanyThe Elgin National Watch Company Grade 10 pocket watch is an 18-size, 11-jewel mechanical timepiece produced circa 1884 by the Elgin National Watch Company of Illinois. Featuring a lever escapement, this model represents an 18-size grade produced during the company's late nineteenth-century operations.
While designed as a hunter case movement, examples may also be found fitted into open-face cases. When an original hunter movement is installed into an open-face case, the resulting configuration is designated as a sidewinder pocket watch. These timepieces incorporate an eleven-jewel movement assembly.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 2
- Photograph views
- 2
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Historical context
The Elgin National Watch Company was established in 1864 as the National Watch Company after its founders persuaded several watchmakers from Waltham to join the venture. The firm completed its factory in Elgin, Illinois, in 1866 and officially adopted the name Elgin National Watch Company in 1874. Over its operating history, the Elgin facility developed into the world's largest site dedicated to watchmaking, eventually manufacturing approximately half of all pocket watches produced in the United States, excluding dollar-type models. Grade 10 watches dating to circa 1884 emerged during this period of extensive American pocket watch production.
Physical characteristics
- Movement size
- 18 size (as described by the source)
Technical characteristics
- Escapement
- Lever escapement
- Jewel count
- 11 jewels (as described by the source)
Design
- Case type
- Hunter case, Open-face
Identification
- Grade
- 10
- Recognition pointers (from background sources)
- Verify the Grade 10 marking on the movement. Check for an 18-size movement featuring an 11-jewel count and a lever escapement. Inspect the case design, noting whether it is in an original hunter case or an open-face case that creates a sidewinder configuration.
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.
Research required
- Serial-number dating, case dimensions and weight remain untranscribed.
- No catalogue reference number is asserted; standard horological catalogues have not been transcribed for this specimen.