Silver Elgin Pocket Watch Case Markings

Never use the serial number from the case or any other part.

Silver elgin pocket watch case markings. Silver was also a commonly used case material and some beautiful examples of silver cases may still be found today. Once you know what each of the marks represents it is easy to figure out where the object was made who made it what year it was made and finally confirm the grade or silver content of the metal. For european pocket watch cases since the early 1600s all solid precious metals were hallmarked. 0 800 or 0 875 for silver and sent the case in to a bureau de contrôle for assay and hallmarking.

Here are a few tips to find information about your pocket watch. Silver cases can be marked in a variety of ways. Example trademarks include silveroid silverine silveride silverode ore silver alaska silver and nickeloid. When this is seen in a swiss watch case often with the swiss hallmark of a rampant bear then the watch was made for the russian market.

Prior to the 1960s the inside of the case back will typically be marked with cased and timed by the elgin national watch co signed crowns can also be useful. Always input the serial number from the pocket watch movement the mechanism of the watch. Always select the correct manufacturer which is usually stamped on the watch movement or dial. Gold sterling silver coin silver made from melted us coinage nickel and plated brass.

Different case manufactures had their own trade marks brand names but most of the names include silver as part of their name even though there is no silver in the case. American pocket watches used a system of relatively standard watch sizes so it was possible for a customer to select the watch movement they wished to purchase and then select a case to hold it. Below are examples of coin silver case marks. Sterling 925 fine coin silver around 90 fine made from melted us coinage fine silver 995.

When a swiss gold and silver watch case was to be hallmarked the manufacturer stamped the standard mark showing the fineness that he asserted for the gold or silver e g. The presence of a signed crown will add another piece to the puzzle however they were not used for all or even the majority of models. Cases could be made of a wide variety of metals. The american case manufacturers used their trademarks on cases they made hence you can tell from these marks and a few reference check from trademark books what the metal is.