Illinois 6S 15J lever set (LS) Sears Roebuck & Co. Special grade 164 ladies' pocket watch #1428025, handsome nickel split plate movement with an elaborate plate layout, screw-down jewel settings and a wavy line damascene pattern is marked "Sears Roebuck & Co. Chicago, Ill." and "Special", mint porcelain enamel dial with Roman numerals, red 5 minute markers and a black marked subsidiary seconds register is marked "Sears Roebuck & Co. Special", blue steel moon-style hands, incredible yellow gold filled (YGF) fully engraved SR & Co. (
Sears, Roebuck and Co.) hunting case (HC) with and elaborate design on both sides of vermicelli engraving behind the large floral, star and geometric patterns surrounding an offset fancy monogram shield, one side has a blank shield and the reverse has a small engraving of a village near a lake, fancy coin edge frame, heavy bow and glass crystal.
Case back also has the original Sears Roebuck & Co. Certificate of Guarantee with the penned serial number matching the number marked on the case, case is showing only very light wear with some faint scuffing but hardly any smoothing to the engraving and some moderate wear and small nicks on the bow (but no brass), additionally there are some small scratches on the interior bezel near the lever as the lever does fit very flush to that bezel and can be a bit tricky to pull to the time-set position without a thin blade, measures approx. 42mm in diameter x 60mm in length x 13mm thick. A very attractive, high quality triple signed Illinois from the 1890s, a great find with some of the original paperwork, in near mint condition overall!
- Year Made: 1898-1899
- Company:
Illinois
-
Movement Size:
106S
- Jewels: 1315J
- Setting/Movement Type:
lever set
- Model/Grade: Special grade 164
- Serial #: 1428025
- Movement Finish: nickel
- Movement Details: hunting case movement (HCM), fancy plate layout, screw-down jewel settings, marked "Sears Roebuck & Co."
- Dial Material: porcelain enamel
- Dial Details: jeweler's mark, "Sears Roebuck & Co."
- Hand Style:
moon - standard
- Case Style:
HC
-
Case Material:
Gold Filled - Yellow
- Case Details:
factory case, original case papers
-
Case Width/Diameter:
42mm (1.65 inches)
-
Case Length, bow included:
60mm (2.36 inches)
-
Case Thickness:
13mm (0.51 inches)
- Crystal Material: glass
- Misc. Info: Sears, Roebuck and Co.
- Condition:
Near Mint
-
Gender:
Unisex
The Illinois Watch Company was founded in Springfield, Illinois and began production of its earliest branded models in 1872, although the company had been producing small runs of watches with various other markings as early as 1869. In 1927, the Hamilton Watch Company purchased Illinois and manufactured watches in the Springfield factory up until 1932. Afterwards, Hamilton continued to produce watches with Illinois Watch Company markings from their main factory in Lancaster, Pennsylvania until 1939.
As an additional resource, we've posted a
Serial Number Production List which includes information for Illinois serial numbers and dates of manufacture.
The NAWCC also has a
comprehensive article about the company; additional information may also be found on
Wikipedia.
You may browse all of our men's pocket watches from this manufacturer at our
Vintage Men's Illinois Pocket Watches category.
This watch is in good running condition, unless otherwise noted in the description. This means that on receipt, pending any item-specific running conditions noted in the description, you can expect the watch to be winding and setting properly and to run smoothly while keeping reasonable time. We consider "reasonable time" to meet these basic guidelines:
- Railroad Grade Watches will be keeping +/- 5 minutes per day
- Pocket and Wrist Watches with 15 or more jewels will be keeping +/- 10 minutes per day
- All key wind watches and watches with 14 or fewer jewels will be keeping +/- 15 minutes per day
The above guideline is the lowest standard in which we would ship out a watch, however in most cases, you will see much better timekeeping. Most of our watches have been in storage for many years, so if you plan on carrying/wearing them everyday, you should consider having them cleaned and oiled soon, and then once a year thereafter to keep them in top running condition. If the watches will be for occasional use or display, they should be cleaned and serviced every 3 to 5 years depending on use.
As of April 27th, 2024, we are not offering a cleaning and service option through PM Time Service. While we do hope to offer this again in the future, we are unfortunately unable to meet customer requests for watch servicing at this time. Please note that, unless otherwise mentioned within the "Full Description" tab, this watch is being sold in good running condition and is ready to wear or carry on arrival.
This watch features a jeweler's mark, or name of the retailer that originally sold the watch, in addition to the name of the watch manufacturer. Jeweler's marks may be engraved or printed on the dial, case or movement, depending on the watch. See the Full Description for details specific to this piece.
The jewelers' mark was a pretty common practice during the early to mid-1900s, and does continue today. A jewelry shop would commission a small run of watches directly from a watch manufacturer, such as Hamilton, Illinois, etc., who would then add markings for that jeweler at the factory to the dial, movement and/or case. This would allow for the jeweler to offer a customized branding of a high quality watch without the prohibitive cost of directly manufacturing the watch components and assembly.
The most common example that most will recognize is with Tiffany & Co., which for a short time did manufacture their own watches but realized it was cost prohibitive for their label and transitioned to commissioning watches from high-end watch manufacturers instead. On many of their vintage watches, you'll see the "Tiffany & Co" markings on the dial, and occasionally also stamped on the movement and case, but additional markings on the movement will show Longines, International Watch Co., etc. to also indicate the manufacturing company.
Unlike modern quartz watches, most vintage watches need daily winding in order to keep the watch functioning for timekeeping. Additionally, there are a number of different ways to set the time other than simply pulling the crown away from the watch body. We are happy to provide an overview of each of the different setting types on our
"How To Use" page, where we also provide information on proper winding techniques for each style and some suggestions for the proper long term care and storage of your watch.
For your gift giving convenience, please find a consolidated overview of the information on this item, with no reference to the price, on this
printer-optimized page.
