Waltham 16 Size Military Pocketwatch

Here's a Waltham  military   pocketwatch  with a 24 hour dial, and a sweep seconds hand.  It's 16 size with 22 jewels - an unusual number as there is a extra to provide for the back side of the sweep seconds arbor.

This is a "hacking" movement, meaning that the watch completely stops in setting mode so as to allow setting to the second.  In this image, the movement is in setting mode and a little spring of steel is touching the balance wheel.  It at the upper right visible near the balance cock.  This stops the balance wheel, and thus the watch.   In winding mode, that spring is moved out of the way and the balance starts.

The black gear on the back is sitting on the 4th wheel.  The 4th wheel is the one that turns one revolution per minute, and this is where, on the other side, the seconds hand would be on a typical pocketwatch (the location of that sub-dial for seconds is not a matter of style, but of mechanics).  This watch has a sweep seconds hand, mounted in the middle.  The black gear drives a pinion on a shaft that passes inside the center wheel arbor, through the watch,, to carry the sweep seconds hand over on the dial side.

New Charts

There's some new pages at the Elgin serial numbers site!

Over all Elgin production of lever-setting movements:
http://home.elgintime.com/elgintime/LeverProdLookup

...of stem-setting movements:
http://home.elgintime.com/elgintime/StemSetProdLookup

and of key-setting movements:
http://home.elgintime.com/elgintime/KeyWindProdLookup

When navigating from a serial number, or a movement, this information can also be viewed by movement size.

Elgin Grade 311

The grade 311 is a gilt 12 size movement, not the typical nickel finish found on most Elgin 12 size products.

The grade 311 is a 7 jewel watch, this example made about 1912. 

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The Elgin Watch Factory, A Rare Aerial Photo

This is an early aerial view of the Elgin watch factory.  In this photo the structure along the far side is absent.  This was at one time one of the largest factories in the world.

That Elgin Grade 387, the Bushing, More

Here's a follow up on this post, about the giant bushing at the lower balance jewel.

Elgin Grade 387, Is That a Bushing?

You never know what you're doing to find when you get into a watch...  Here's what I found on removing the dial from this one.  At some point in the past a really large piece was cut out of the bottom plate, where the lower balance jewel mounts.  I round piece of brass has been fit there like a sort of giant bushing.  I'm not sure what problem would prompt this...  

Here's the view from the top, after removing the balance wheel.



This movement is a grade 387, 16 size, 17 jewel Elgin, made about 1914. 

Elgin Grade 150

Elgin's grade 150 is sometimes marked "150", and sometimes "Father Time". This particular one, made about 1896, is not marked with a name at all.

This is a high end movement, 18 size, with 15 jewels.

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