Elgintime Vintage Horological

Job Number 250137

No special notes. This one went pretty smoothly. All I added was a replacement bow.

Elgin serial number 24509265 is a grade 313, 16 size, 15 jewels, made about 1922.

The album for this watch is here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Fn8WEcKu6ZXZvFc1A

Instagram and this Blog

Instagram has made a few changes over the past few weeks.

Firstly, it is no longer possible to view my posts without an Instagram login. The people I work with often have no interest in creating an Instagram account. Secondly, URLs, such as to the Google Photos albums I create are no longer "live" and clickable. This was long the case in the app, but in the web interface, links worked until recently. Thirdly, the search change is truing baffling. Who implements a search that excludes exact matches? This change has rendered hash tags useless, as it's no longer possible to find my posts by job number tag.

There's just no reason for the time and effort it takes to make posts to Instagram if they can't be accessed by the watch owners.

I've been meaning to do this eventually anyway. I have extracted all my content from Instagram (as I did from Google+ before that), and will be gradually getting it posted here, back dated years into the past. I see no reason to delete the Instagram account, and will probably post something there now and then, but new content on projects will be here on the blog going forward.

Posts here will be less frequent as it's more work, but they are retrievable by job number.

Job Number 250133

I had to get into this one again and replace the lower balance jewel due to excessive end-shake. The pivot hole was too big. I didn't catch this at first but in running it in various positions the trouble imerged.

Serial number 24973516 is a grade 291, 16 size, 7 jewels, made about 1922.

The album for this project is here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/s1ryMuTqr9AxqcqT9

New Arrival, Job Number 250139

Follow the album for this project here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/cgtajUEmGAKYyyQt8

Job Number 250133

No particular issues with this one.

Ready for a few days of testing...

Serial number 24973516 is a grade 291, 16 size, 7 jewels, made about 1922.

The album for this project is here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/s1ryMuTqr9AxqcqT9

Job Number 250130

The click was loose, and on further examination I found the head of the screw broken of with the body of the screw still in the hole. Getting that out requires stripping off every single part made of steel from the barrel bridge and soaking it over night in a chemical bath to dissolve the screw. This works great, the solution does nothing to the nickel plated plate.

No other issues...

Elgin serial number 20986280 is a grade 315, 12 size, 15
jewels, made about 1918.

The album for this watch is here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/CFqqh6VJhUeQTjSk6

New Arrival, Job Number 260030

Follow the album for this project here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/bm6aeqVarEpqJVGi7

Do you have a vintage watch to be serviced?

Maybe I can help. Take a look here for information - specializing in Elgin, Hamilton, Waltham and other antique American makes.

http://www.elgintime.com

Elgin National
American Waltham
Rockford
Hamilton
New York Standard
Illinois Watch Company
Hampden
And Others

Jeff,
I received my grandfather's watch which you restored for me yesterday. It is gratifying to see this watch in action after many years. It has probably not been working since 1912.
R. Z.

Hi Jeff!
Thank you so much! My watch looks great! The CD is great too…again,
Thanks so much,
Anna

Hey jeff. I got the watch safe and sound and the cd today. The watch looks better than I had anticipated. Another good job again.
Steve

Thanks Jeff, I am so happy I found you for repairs on my watches.
A. T.

Hello Jeff
The watch came today works great, it`s neat to hear it run. I wonder how long its been since it ran, my great grandfather who owned the watch died in 1925. I want thank you for bringing it back to life
J. S.

Dear Jeff,
My Elgin pocket watch arrived today. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. My family will treasure it.
D. L.

Jeff,
Just a quick note to let you know the watch is back home. It is an absolute joy to see and hear it run again after all these years. It was extremely emotional for me. I remember playing with it as a small boy, and never known it to work. My father would be very proud and humbled to know it was working again. I'm sure he knows. Thank you.
S. Welsh

Jeff,
Watches look fantastic, run great. I can see why you're in high demand, you're a class act. You provide detail historical summary and preliminary review of watch prior to work, fair estimate, provide post work summary, along with high res images of watches to boot. Thanks again and will certainly share your name around.
Thanks!
D. H.

Jeff,
I received the watches today and must say I couldn't be more pleased. Thank you so much. It was wonderful to wind them up and here them tic again.
G. M.

I'm very pleased with the outcome and want to thank you for a job well done. The watch looks and runs great, and the hands you replaced are very much more in keeping with an Elgin watch of this time period.
As you might imagine, to send such a precious family heirloom all the way across the country to someone who I really didn't know, or know anything about, took a lot of faith and courage. You really measured up to my expectations.
Thanks and best wishes,
B. H.

Good Morning Jeff
I got the watch back and I'm thrilled! I really appreciate your professionalism and workmanship. It's really nice to have the watch back in working order! Especially since the local repair indicated that it couldn't be fixed! Thanks so much for everything. I'll certainly be back in touch when it needs maintenance.
M. H.

Hi Jeff –
I just received the watch you repaired for me. It’s absolutely fantastic! Thanks so much for your excellent service.
A. C.

Welcome!

Classic watches, watchmaking, antique tools, history, vintage ephemera and more!

Learn about mechanical timepieces and how they work, the history of the American watch industry and especially all about the Elgin National Watch Company! Check back for new content daily.

Although this is technically a blog, the content is not generally in a time-based sequence. You can find interesting items throughout. Down the page some is an alphabetical word cloud of keywords used here. A great way to dig in is to look through those topics and click anything you find interesting. You'll see all the relevant content.

Here are a few of my favorites!

There are some large images on some posts, so that might impact your load times, bit I think you will find it worth the wait. Thanks for visiting!

Job Number 250137

Instagram and this Blog

Job Number 250133

New Arrival, Job Number 250139

Job Number 250133

Job Number 250130

New Arrival, Job Number 260030

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