Catalogue record · Pocket watch
Elgin B. W. Raymond
Partially verifiedElgin's longest-running named grade, carried from key-wind beginnings through to a fully adjusted twentieth-century railroad watch bearing the name of an early company director.
Overview
B. W. Raymond is a grade name Elgin used across an unusually long span of production, so the name alone covers everything from early key-wind full-plate movements to a mature twentieth-century 16 size, lever-set railroad grade. The railroad-standard form is the one most often meant when the name is used without qualification.
In its railroad configuration the grade sits alongside the Hamilton 992B and Illinois Bunn Special as one of the watches routinely accepted by American railroad time-service inspection.
History
The name honours Bethuel Burritt Raymond, an early president of the National Watch Company (Elgin's original name), and Elgin kept the grade name in production for decades as its specification was repeatedly upgraded.
By the time railroad standards had settled into their mature twentieth-century form, the B. W. Raymond had been re-engineered into a 16 size, lever-set, 19–21 jewel movement built specifically to meet them.
Design
Bridge-plate construction gives clear access to the train for servicing, in contrast to the full-plate architecture of Elgin's earliest movements bearing the same grade name.
Lever setting under the bezel, plain legible dials and a durable case are the railroad-service package shared with its Hamilton and Illinois competitors.
Movement
Later production examples carry adjustment to temperature, isochronism and several positions, consistent with railroad specification requirements.
Because the grade name spans radically different movement architectures over its production life, the movement's construction — not the grade name — is what should be described.
Case
As with other American watches, cases were bought separately from the movement by the retailer; an early case on a late movement, or the reverse, is common and should be described honestly.
Gold-filled cases in worn service condition are typical of watches that actually worked a railroad career.
Dial and hands
Montgomery-pattern dials, with every minute numbered, are associated with railroad-service Elgins and are also widely reproduced on later replacement dials; inspect the dial feet and enamel edge for consistency with the movement's period.
Technical specifications
| Movement | Elgin B. W. Raymond, 16 size, 19–21 jewels |
|---|---|
| Movement type | Bridge, lever-set, stem-wind, 16 size |
| Escapement | Lever escapement |
| Jewels | 19 or 21 jewels depending on production run |
| Winding and setting | Stem-wind, lever-set |
| Size | 16 size |
| Power reserve | Approximately 30–36 hours |
| Frequency | 18,000 vibrations per hour (2.5 Hz) |
| Accuracy | Adjusted to temperature, isochronism and multiple positions in railroad-grade production |
| Complications | Running seconds |
| Size | 16 size (railroad form) |
| Jewels | 19–21 |
| Setting | Lever-set |
| Escapement | Lever |
Identification
- Grade name B. W. Raymond and Elgin National Watch Co. signature on the top plate, with a serial number for dating.
- Bridge architecture and lever-setting slot mark the mature railroad-grade form; earlier key-wind examples under the same name are full-plate.
Variations
- Nineteenth-century key-wind, full-plate B. W. Raymond movements differ completely in architecture from the twentieth-century lever-set railroad grade.
- Jewel counts of 19 and 21 both occur in the railroad-era production; dial patterns include both Montgomery and plain Arabic.
Serial numbers and dating
- Elgin serial numbers are extensively documented in published tables and give an estimated production year for the movement, not the case.
Known examples and institutional holdings
- Large numbers survive in private and institutional collections; the grade is common enough that individual examples are notable chiefly for documented railroad service history where it survives.
Collecting
- A well-documented entry point into American railroad watch collecting; condition of dial and case, and originality of the movement-case pairing, drive desirability far more than the grade name alone.
- We publish no prices: values depend on grade era, condition, dial and market at time of sale.
Restoration and conservation
- Watchmaker service marks scratched inside case backs are historical evidence of a working career and should be conserved, not polished out.
- Movement work — cleaning, lubrication, mainspring replacement, pivot or jewel work — belongs with a qualified watchmaker. Conserve original parts; do not refinish dials or polish cases to remove honest wear.
Bibliography
- Published American pocket watch references with Elgin grade and serial data (edition-dependent).
- Railroad time-service standards as reprinted in historical studies of American timekeeping.
Bibliographic entries are given only at the level we can support. Where an edition, publisher or ISBN is not confirmed, it is deliberately omitted rather than invented.
Related photographs
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No confidently matched photograph of this subject has been found yet. These photographs show a closely related record, and are not examples of the type described on this page.
Sources & references
- Published Elgin serial-number and grade references.
- Historical studies of American railroad time standards.
Where sources disagree, the disagreement is stated rather than resolved silently.