Elgin Pocket Watch Value




  1. Elgin Pocket Watches For Sale
  2. Elgin Pocket Watch Value Guide
Antique pocket watches are unique timepieces that are in high demand, particularly with vintage and antique pocket watch buyers, and are deserving of worthy offers. Our powerful luxury auction platform attracts hundreds of professional buyers to competitively bid on your timepiece. Selling an antique pocket watch doesn't have to be difficult, and we are here to help. At Worthy, we go the extra mile by cleaning and evaluating your timepiece, and by photographing it using the most technically advanced high-resolution imaging equipment available so it looks its very best at auction.From the beginning of the process to its end, we are fully committed to getting you more money for your valuables, and to ensuring that the entire problem of how to sell antique watches is solved in a way that’s easy and completely secure.
  1. Worthy Makes It Easy to Sell Antique Watches Online. Tell Us About Your Item- Photograph your pocket watch and take a few moments to complete a short form. Get a Trending Price- Using your photo and the description you provide, the platform begins to reach out to interested antique watch buyers to help determine the demand for your vintage timepiece.
  2. Get the best deals on Elgin Pocket Watch Pocket Watches with Vintage when you shop the largest online selection at eBay.com. Free shipping on many items Browse your favorite brands affordable prices.

Recently Auctioned Vintage Pocket Watches:

Many of the more well known pocket watch makers, like Waltham, Elgin, Hamilton, etc, are fairly well documented and so it's fairly easy to put a value on them, even if it is only a rough guide. Where it gets more difficult is if someone brings in a lesser known watch that isn't traded all that often.

Why Sell My Vintage Pocket Watch Online with Worthy?

Our clients have asked, “Why sell my antique pocket watch with Worthy instead of my local dealer?” The answer to this question is both sensible and straightforward. Our clients are our priority, and we take pride in completing each transaction with total transparency and absolute care. At the same time, we know how important convenience is to you and we work diligently on your behalf to ensure that selling you antique pocket watch is a simple, streamlined process. With our services, there’s no need for you to spend your valuable time searching for an appraiser who knows the ins and outs of vintage pocket watches. Nor do you need to undertake the delicate task of cleaning and photographing your pocket watch pre-auction. With Worthy, you don’t spend time waiting for interested antique pocket watch buyers to make contact. Instead, you take advantage of all we have to offer, allowing us to expertly handle these important tasks for you. By using our services, trusted watch buyers from around the globe are brought to your auction. We sell only to those buyers who are willing to pay top dollar for the quality and reliability associated with Worthy.com.
At Worthy.com, trust, transparency, and absolute customer satisfaction are our most important values, which show in our 100% objective appraisals and throughout the entire auction process. We are licensed by the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs and are highly accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB).
Consumer confidence is of utmost importance to us here at Worthy. That is why, one of our first steps was to be accredited and graded by the BBB. Like them, we uphold the value in transparency, honesty, and legitimate business practices.
More About OurSeller ProtectionPolicy.

How to Sell Antique Pocket Watches: Objective Appraisals Make All the Difference

When selling antique pocket watches with us, you receive an important service not available from other online auction platforms: we provide all of our sellers with independent evaluations at no cost. Because each and every vintage timepiece is unique, we take the utmost care in selecting an evaluator who has the experience and expertise to provide the most thorough evaluation possible. Worthy’s evaluations are unlike others in many ways. One of the most important is this: we do not ask our experts to set a value for your pocket watch. Instead, we require evaluations to contain important certification details designed to enhance buyer trust and satisfaction while ensuring that you receive the best value possible when selling your antique or vintage watch. With Worthy, you can rest assured that your transaction is being handled with expert care from start to finish. You also enjoy peace of mind in the knowledge that your valuable pocket watch is fully insured during transit and while being stored in our ultra-secure facility.
We trust CentralWatch to confirm the authenticity of watches auctioned on Worthy, providing detailed descriptions that buyers can trust.
More About OurSeller ProtectionPolicy.

Worthy Makes It Easy to Sell Antique Watches Online

  1. Tell Us About Your Item- Photograph your pocket watch and take a few moments to complete a short form.
  2. Get a Trending Price- Using your photo and the description you provide, the platform begins to reach out to interested antique watch buyers to help determine the demand for your vintage timepiece.
  3. Evaluation- We then send you a convenient pre-paid shipping label addressed to our state-of-the-art facilities, where your pocket watch will be handled with care and professionally evaluated.
  4. Reserve Price- Upon its arrival, your timepiece will be cleaned and evaluated by an expert. They will compose a highly detailed written description designed to entice antique pocket watch buyers to bid. Your timepiece will also be showcased for auction using our stunning, high-definition photographs.
  5. Auction- Your timepiece will be advertised to antique pocket watch buyers who are expressly interested in purchasing vintage pocket watches. At auction close, you determine whether you’d like to accept the highest offer. If so, you are instantly credited with the money. Your transaction is guaranteed, and the buyer may not back out.

We Get You the Highest Offer When Selling Antique Pocket Watches

Using our unique auction platform, complete with world-class professionals who have the knowledge required to accurately inspect your vintage pocket watch, we help you receive top offers from antique pocket watch buyers. Here's how to sell antique pocket watches the Worthy way
  • Low overhead- low commissions.
  • Expert evaluations conducted by experts at no cost to you.
  • Professional photographs and descriptions tailored to sell your antique pocket watch.
  • Reputations as experts; the best in our field.
Worthy provides full insurance coverage for every shipment. We trust Lloyd's of London, a global leader in insurance since 1688, to protect all valuables auctioned on our platform.
Click herefor more about our item protection policy

Are Antique Pocket Watches in Demand?

The term “antique pocket watch” is used to refer to vintage pocket watches of high quality. Collectors and those who buy and sell antique pocket watches in shops around the world are always looking for new items to offer their discerning clientele.
While fine contemporary timepieces are always in demand, the market is often overflowing with desirable items. In contrast, rare antique pocket watches are often one of a kind and many timepieces are either not documented or are among just a few known to be in existence. This is one more reason to work with Worthy when selling antique pocket watches online: The independent appraisers who work with us are able to properly identify and value even the rarest antique timepieces.
Great experience. Highly recommend Worthy.
Elgin pocket watch value 1902

What Factors Can Affect the Value of Antique Pocket Watches?

Many antique pocket watches are surprisingly valuable and are almost certain to provide an excellent return on your investment. No matter what brand your vintage pocket watch happens to be and no matter what its age, there are certain factors that can affect its value. These include:
  • Age
  • Rarity
  • Condition
  • Popularity
  • Accuracy in Telling Time
  • Historical value

Why Sell My Antique Pocket Watch?

The answer to these question varies from one individual to the next.
  • You can transform an unwanted vintage pocket watch into cash
  • It’s not difficult to sell antique pocket watches with Worthy
  • The market for antique and vintage pocket watches is strong
Excellent examples of antique pocket watches have recently sold for well over $150,000. If you’d like to sell your vintage or antique watch, you’ll most likely be impressed at the offers you receive with Worthy.

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Including Elgin Watch Serial Numbers and Production Dates

Elgin, Illinois

1864 - 1967

The Elgin Watch Company (also known as the Elgin National Watch Company) was the largest American watch manufacturer in terms of total production volume. In fact, Elgin produced approximately one-half of the total number of better-quality pocket watches manufactured in the United States. Total production over their 100 years of operation reached nearly 60 million watches, which is nearly 50% of ALL the jeweled watches produced by American watch companies! This makes Elgin one of the most commonly collected vintage watches since there are still so many examples available at reasonable prices.

The clock tower at the Elgin National

Pocket

Watch Company

The Elgin National Watch Company was founded in 1864 in Elgin, Illinois as the National Watch Company, and some of the organizers were later to become the some of the biggest names in the American watch industry: J. C. Adams, P. S. Bartlett, D. G. Currier, Otis Hoyt, and Charles H. Mason, with financial backing from former Chicago Mayor Benjamin W. Raymond. The factory for the National watch company was completed in 1866, and the first movement produced was an 18-size B. W. Raymond model which sold in April of 1867 for the astounding price of $115. This identical watch, serial number 101, was sold at auction in New York in 1988 for $12,000. In 1874, the company officially changed their name to the Elgin National Watch Company, and that name remained until they stopped producing watches in the 1960's.

The 'Working Man's' Watch

The Elgin Watch Company's success was not built on its production of the highest-grade watches, though some of their higher grades were top-quality, exquisitely made timepieces. Their success can be attributed to their huge production of low to mid-grade watches... 7 to 15-jewels. Together with the Waltham Watch Company, they dominated the huge market for mid-grade watches, producing over one-million per year during their peak years of production. Elgin watches remain extremely popular with collectors today because they are plentiful, can be obtained at reasonable prices, and can be relatively easily repaired due to the large number of watches and parts available.

Elgin shipped their first wristwatch in 1910, and later manufactured the first wrist watch to be qualified for railroad service, the grade 730A B. W. Raymond. Throughout their history, the Elgin National Watch Company was known for horological innovations. In 1958, they introduced the 'DuraBalance,' an ingenious design for a free-sprung balance (no regulator pins) which used spiral balance arms and small weights to govern the moment of inertia of the balance. They also produced the only American-made automatic wristwatch movements: grades 607, 618, 760, and 761. These movements featured bi-directional, full-rotor winding, and had two automatic winding gear ratios, which were automatically engaged as the mainspring tension increased.

The contributions of the Elgin National Watch Company to American Horological industry cannot be overstated. Many Elgin watches that were made over 100 years ago are still providing reliable and accurate daily service to their proud owners.

WatchElgin

Swiss Elgin Watches

During the last few years that Elgin was in business (late 50's through mid-60's), they began to reduce their US production and began importing Swiss watch movements which were finished and labeled as Elgin watches. Much of this assembly work was done at a new Elgin plant in Elgin, South Carolina.

For more information on Swiss Elgin watches, including a listing of Swiss Elgin grades and their equivalent Swiss movement calibres, please view our Swiss Elgin page.

Elgin Watch Cases: Illinois Watch Case Company

The Illinois Watch Case Company of Elgin, Illinois should not be confused with the Elgin Watch Company. The Illinois Watch Case Company (I.W.C.Co) was a major manufacture in the city of Elgin, Illinois. It manufactured watch cases under many brands, such as 'Elgin Giant,' 'Elgin Pride,' 'Tivoli,' 'Spartan,' and 'Elgin Commander.' The use of the name 'Elgin' in their brand names, or marking the cases with 'Elgin USA' has often led people to believe that a watch was made by the Elgin National Watch Company when it was actually made by another manufacturer, or to think that a watch no longer has its original case because it is 'now in an Elgin case.' Keep in mind that watch movements and watch cases were usually made by different manufacturers. Elgin watches are entirely different than Illinois 'Elgin' cases.

Modern Battery-Powered 'Elgin' Watches

The Elgin National Watch Company went out of business in 1964. They never made any battery-powered, quartz watches. If you have a recently-purchased, modern Elgin watch, please see our Modern Elgin Watch page for more information.

SPONSORED ADVERTISEMENTS

Elgin National Watch Company

Total Production: Approx. 55 Million Watches

YearS/N
18679000
186825,001
186940,001
187050,001
1871185,001
1872201,001
1873325,001
1874400,001
1875430,000
1876480,000
1877520,000
1878570,000
1879625,001
1880750,000
1881900,000
18821,000,000
18831,250,000
18841,500,000
18851,855,001
18862,000,000
18872,500,000
18883,000,000
18893,500,000
18904,000,000
18914,449,001
18924,600,000
18935,000,000
18945,500,000
18956,000,000
18966,500,000
YearS/N
18977,000,000
18987,494,001
18998,000,000
19009,000,000
19019,300,000
19029,600,000
190310,000,000
190411,000,000
190512,000,000
190612,500,000
190713,000,000
190813,500,000
190914,000,000
191015,000,000
191116,000,000
191217,000,000
191317,339,001
191418,000,000
191518,587,001
191619,000,000
191720,031,001
191821,000,000
191922,000,000
192023,000,000
192124,321,001
192225,100,000
192326,050,000
192427,000,000
192528,421,001
192629,100,000
YearS/N
192730,050,000
192831,599,100
192932,000,000
193032,599,001
193133,000,000
193233,700,000
193334,558,001
193435,000,000
193535,650,000
193636,200,000
193736,978,001
193837,900,000
193938,200,000
194039,100,000
194140,200,000
194241,100,000
194342,200,000
194442,600,000
194543,200,000
194644,000,000
194745,000,000
194846,000,000
194947,000,000
195048,000,000
195150,000,000
195252,000,000
195353,500,000
195454,000,000
195554,500,000
195655,000,000

Be sure to use the serial number on the movement (the works) of the watch. Do not use the serial number from the watch case.

Can’t find your serial number in the table? Click here for an explanation and example of how to use our serial number tables.

Elgin Pocket Watches For Sale

Need help finding the serial number on your watch? Click here for instructions on how to identify and open most common case types.

In the 1930s, Elgin began using a single-letter prefix to replace the 'millions' digits on their serial numbers. So if your Elgin watch has a serial number starting with a letter, you must determine the millions digits from the table below in order to determine the full serial number.

LetterMillions Digits
X38 or 39
C, E, T or Y42
L43
U44
J45
V46
H47
N48
F49
S50
R51
P52
K53
I54

Elgin Pocket Watch Value Guide

At Renaissance Watch Repair, we are experts in the repair and restoration of vintage watches made by the Elgin National Watch Company. Please contact us if you have any questions about the repair of your Elgin watch.