I just got my copy of the book and wonder what I'm missing. If I'm working on a grade 290, it's not in this book that I see. There are so many grades but only a few specifically listed, so how do you actually know what to look at? I have a copy of the Elgin 1915 parts catalog, but of course that's very labor intensive because you'd have to look for a part one at a time, so I see why the Swigart book would be easier to use, but where's my 290?

How do I use this book?

I don't have my book here in front of me but I think you watch is a model 6 16s, so you might look at that page in the book. I would give you the page number but I as I said I am just working from memory.

Tom

Thanks. I'll take a look. But how would I know that? What information do I need to figure it put other than just looking at the picture?

Hi Dale

Sorry I am still at work so no book. My copy of the book on each page at the top has something like Elgin 16 model 6 & then an image of the movement. If yours is like that I would start on the Elgin pages, then go to the 16 size & then the model.

Dale, I assume you have looked up the serial number to figure out what model it was along with the grade.

Maybe the books were different over the years & yours might be different from mine.

Tom

Oh yes, I get it now. There's grade, class and model right. I was focusing on grade and class and didn't realize the importance of model. But I understand now. And You were right about which model it was.

Thanks again for your help. You guys are so patient with my basic questions. I never feel silly asking anything.

There's soooo much to learn!

Your welcome Dale, I was sorry I wasn't real clear with my answer but without the book in front of me I was just guessing. Ask away.

Tom

But when you're looking for parts, you can't just go by model can you? Don't you really need to know the class also?

It seems to me I need both the Swigart book and the Elgin catalog if I want to be thorough and accurate. Or would the 6 16s always have the same tolerances? If that were the case, than you really could get away with just knowing the model number.

Grade would really indicate the least amount of information in the search, correct?

Maybe if Brian Cavanaugh is reading this he could respond, I buy most of my parts from him & he is a member here so maybe he could explain this.

Tom

Hi Guys,
I'll try and help.
Different watch companies want to know different things. The best place to look up Elgin parts is in the Elgin Genuine Material Catalog. In this book you can look up your serial number, and it tells you the grade. Then look up the grade, and the part you need. This will then tell you the part number.
Illinois, are different. I use the 1923 Illinois Material catalog for most of the parts I'm looking for. This catalog goes by the model number, to get the part number.
I also use the Swigart Book. Waltham wants to know the model number, while Hamilton wants the grade number.
The bottom line is, if you want to be able to look up, most of the American watch companies material, you really need a parts catalog from each company. In some cases, like Waltham, you need more than one catalog, as they made so many watches, the catalogs changed from time to time.
I hope this helps. If there are any other questions, just ask, and I'll see if I can help.
Brian C.

Ok, that helps a lot, so this is hopefully my last question. And this is specific to Elgin.

It looks like it's not just grade, but also class that determines the parts. So if I have two different grade watches that are the same class, they use the same parts. Because when you look up parts in the Elgin catalog you need to determine the class based on the grade. And then the parts are related to the class.

I am planning on working only on Elgins while I am learning, so I think buying the Swigart book was not a great idea, as the information is less detailed and redundent.

Dale,
I don't pay much attention to the class. In the Elgin catalog, look up the grade, and the part number. Then look up the other grade, and the part number. If the part numbers are the same, the watches take the same part, if not, they take a different part number.
Brian C.