Description:
Elgin 16S 7J grade 291 pocket watch #36835876, attractive nickel split plate movement with an elaborate concentric circle damaskeen pattern, single sunk (SS) porcelain enamel dial with fancy Arabic numbers, red Arabic 5 minute markers and a black-marked subsidiary seconds register has a bold black Harley Davidson shield emblem above the center post, dial has a few faint hairlines, blue steel spade & whip style hands, re-cased into an engraved yellow gold filled (YGF) screw back & bezel (SB&B) case with vermicelli engraving among large floral designs, a center engraved circle and a fancy monogram shield at the bottom of the case, shield has a fancy monogram, possibly "HI", coin edge engraving on the frame and a fancy bow, case is showing moderate to heavy wear with notable smoothing to the engraving and lines of brass on most elements of the case, measures approx. 49mm in diameter x 67mm in length x 13mm thick (crystal included). A handsome vintage Harley Davidson motorcycle advertising watch from the 1930s, running great and ready to carry everyday in very good overall condition!
Item Specifics:
Logo Info:
On all but a few of the advertising logos, mainly Packard from the Hamilton company and Studebaker from South Bend, the logos would have been commissioned through a professional dial company after they left the factory to have the logo applied. For instance, a car dealership might have them added as a promotion, a motorcycle club would have ones done for each of their members, etc.
On the watch/logo combinations that may not match up on a timeline (the watch was made prior to the automobile company being formed, for instance), what we understand could have happened is, say for a car club, the members would need to provide their own watch to which the emblems would be added. Someone might have wanted a Harley logo on "Grandpa Bob's" old pocket watch, and would have had the dial pulled from that. Other than the Packard/Hamilton & Studebaker/South Bend arrangements, it was a free-for-all on the pairings and you could find just about any combination of manufacturer with the different logos.
We do also have a pretty good selection of the vintage dials that have emblems on them, but that are not attached to a watch yet. Often in the past, a customer would want a watch without the advertising, so we would just pull the printed dial and replace it with a similar-style plain dial, then set the printed one aside. If you have something specific you are looking for, please drop us a note to see if we have anything in our stock that might work for you.
For guides on how to wear and care for your vintage watches and watch accessories, check out the PM Time Service reference pages at:
www.pmtime.com/POP_REF_PAGES.html
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