Movement record · United States

Elgin B. W. Raymond

Partially verified

A grade name rather than a single calibre, applied by Elgin to railroad-standard movements for most of the company's history, so that examples differ fundamentally in plate layout between early key-wind and late twentieth-century production.

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Technical specifications

Diameter: 18 size early; later 16 size and smaller
Height: Varies by model
Jewels: 15 to 23 depending on grade and date
Frequency: 18,000 vph (2.5 Hz)
Power reserve: Approx. 36 hours
Winding: Key wind on the earliest grades, later stem wind
Setting: Lever set on railway-service grades
Escapement: Lever
Balance: Compensation balance; later grades with monometallic balance and improved hairspring alloy
Complications: Subsidiary seconds, Up-and-down indicator on a small number of grades

Identification features

'B. W. Raymond' grade name on the movement, named after one of Elgin's founders
Grade and model must be read together with the serial number, since the name spans many designs
Published Elgin serial-number tables give an approximate date of production
'B. W. Raymond' engraved on the plate
19 or 21 jewels in later railroad grades
Lever-set in railroad versions

Known variants

Early key-wind 18 size
16 size lever-set railroad grades
Late 21 and 23 jewel grades
18-size key-wind early versions
16-size grades 571 and 572 (the 571 being the 21-jewel railroad standard)

Servicing notes

Elgin parts are among the more available American components, but grade-to-grade interchangeability cannot be assumed.

General guidance only. Antique movements should be serviced by a qualified watchmaker.

Historical significance

Elgin's premium railroad grade, named after Benjamin W. Raymond, a former Chicago mayor and an Elgin founder; produced in 18- and 16-size from the 1860s to the mid-twentieth century.

Elgin B. W. Raymond, 16-size Model 15, 21 jewels — balance and regulator close-up; source discusses the historically named Invar Balance — David Boettcher / Vintage Watchstraps, Copyright David Boettcher — all rights reserved; rights pending, permission not established. Vintage Watchstraps — exact Elgin B. W. Raymond research example

Dial view of an Elgin B.W. Raymond pocket watch — Elgin B. W. Raymond, 16-size Model 15, 21 jewels — balance and regulator close-up; source discusses the historically named Invar Balance — David Boettcher / Vintage Watchstraps, Copyright David Boettcher — all rights reserved; rights pending, permission not established. Vintage Watchstraps — exact Elgin B. W. Raymond research example

Sources & references

Elgin National Watch Company serial-number records as published by the NAWCC
The full grade list is extensive; the variants noted here are representative rather than complete.

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