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The Encyclopedia of Horology

Serial-number guide

Elgin National Watch Company Serial Numbers

Partially verified

What a Elgin National Watch Company serial number can establish, what it cannot, and how to record a date estimate another researcher could check.

Elgin National Watch Company movement markings

Gold Filled Elgin National Watch Co. Pocket Watch – 1925
Gold Filled Elgin National Watch Co. Pocket Watch – 1925 — WatchMuseum.org, © WatchMuseum.org, used with permission. WatchMuseum.org catalogue record
Gold Filled Elgin National Watch Co. Pocket Watch – 1925
Gold Filled Elgin National Watch Co. Pocket Watch – 1925 — WatchMuseum.org, © WatchMuseum.org, used with permission. WatchMuseum.org catalogue record
Gold Filled Elgin National Watch Co. Pocket Watch – 1925
Gold Filled Elgin National Watch Co. Pocket Watch – 1925 — WatchMuseum.org, © WatchMuseum.org, used with permission. WatchMuseum.org catalogue record

Movement markings — maker name, grade, serial number and jewelling — are the evidence base for any serial-number attribution.

Method

Reading the number, step by step

  1. 1. Find the movement number

    Elgin movement serials are on the movement itself; case numbers, especially on watches cased by independent casemakers (common in the American trade, where a customer or retailer could choose a case separately from the movement), are unrelated.

  2. 2. Understand what it encodes

    As with Waltham, Elgin movement serials are broadly sequential and can suggest an approximate production year via published tables.

  3. 3. Judge how precise the date can be

    Estimated: because underlying records are incomplete, gaps and reconstructed ranges exist in published tables, and some ranges are marked by researchers themselves as approximate.

  4. 4. Check the records behind the tables

    The Elgin Watch Company's original production ledgers do not survive complete; published serial tables (again widely mirrored by NAWCC-linked and independent lookup sites) are reconstructions from surviving partial records and cross-referencing, not a full factory ledger.

Quick facts

Manufacturer
Elgin National Watch Company
Dating confidence
Estimate only — see notes
Editorial status
Partially verified

Sources & references

  1. NAWCC published Elgin resources
  2. Community-maintained Elgin serial lookup tables (secondary reconstructions, not original factory ledgers)

Where sources disagree, the disagreement is stated rather than resolved silently.

Limits

What the number does not prove

Questions

Frequently asked

Where is the serial number on a Elgin National Watch Company watch?
Elgin movement serials are on the movement itself; case numbers, especially on watches cased by independent casemakers (common in the American trade, where a customer or retailer could choose a case separately from the movement), are unrelated.
What do Elgin National Watch Company serial numbers mean?
As with Waltham, Elgin movement serials are broadly sequential and can suggest an approximate production year via published tables.
How accurate is dating a Elgin National Watch Company watch by serial number?
Estimated: because underlying records are incomplete, gaps and reconstructed ranges exist in published tables, and some ranges are marked by researchers themselves as approximate.
Where are Elgin National Watch Company production records held?
The Elgin Watch Company's original production ledgers do not survive complete; published serial tables (again widely mirrored by NAWCC-linked and independent lookup sites) are reconstructions from surviving partial records and cross-referencing, not a full factory ledger.

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