Description:
Elgin 16S 7J grade 293 pocket watch #19325730, classic gilt split plate movement with steel winding gears and an elaborately engraved balance bridge, single sunk (SS) porcelain enamel dial with Roman numerals, red 5 minute Arabic markers and a black-marked subsidiary seconds register has a bright red Indian head emblem and Indian script around the center post, dial has a few faint hairlines, blue steel spade style hands, re-cased into a heavy yellow gold filled (YGF) screw back & bezel (SB&B) case with large floral engraving on the back, coin edge engraving on the edges of the frame, sculpted pendant and a heavy bow, case is showing moderate to heavy wear with some smoothing to the floral engraving and some notable spots of brass on all elements of the case, measures approx. 51mm in diameter x 71mm in length x 16mm thick (crystal included). A nice looking Indian motorcycle advertising watch from the early 1900s, still attractive even with the obvious signs of wear and perfect 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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