I was musing on some of our posts this morning and looking at some fine Elgins and Walthams I have restored over the past few weeks and months and am reminded that were it not for American imagination, ingenuity, pride, and stubborness, we would probably be watching TV in German with Japanese Subtitles! God knows what the programming would be!
BUT; to meet the railroad's demand for "on time" timepieces, Elgin went to the wall and made the Crem-De-Creme Veritas 23 Jewel watches in both 18 and 16 size, two of mine enjoyed a long and well serviced history with Lehigh Walley RR (18s Gr 214) and Great Northern (16s Gr 350).

While both of these were made at about the same time (1906-7), they represent Elgin's best effort to compete with the already famous Waltham Model 1892 and 1899 watches. Elgin went one step ahead with the 18 size which is the ONLY US-Made true 3/4 plate movement ever in production!

Waltham replied in kind by using their models 1892 18s and 1908 16s platforms to produce a "pair of 45's" to compete cost-performance wise with all the highly Jeweled Veritas, Bunn, 900 series stuff on the market, and Waltham with their longer experience succeeded, selling many of these to the Trunk lines and the CPR through the Canadian watch inspectors;

While there is some similarity (both watches produced in the 1914-15 time period) to the appearance of the movements, Waltham's 18 size 1892 movment in the Model 845 purpose built RR grade watch is still actually a full plate movement with all 4 the wheels AND the pallet fork "under one roof", making it a little more work to service, but it (with the Elgin 18s model 8 pictured above) remain what is considered by many of us fanciers to be the two finest pieces of 18s Horology ever made! The Waltham 16s 645 purpose built for RR use watch used all the proven Waltham model 1899-1908 technology to finish an eminently serviceable and durable movement that many RR people "swore by" (instead of "at"!

Lest we forget the contribution of these two companies . . . . During WWII BOTH Elgin and Waltham applied their tremendous talent and experience to the general issue of keeping our successful response to the imminent danger of the Axis Powers on time. How many 10's of thousands of our aircraft got on target "on Elgin (and/or) Waltham time"?

Very good Dave. Here at this place we learn something worth knowing every day.

Dave,
I enjoy your posts very much. Please, keep them coming!

Thanks Dave, I too enjoy reading and learning from your posts.

Ray

Wonderful, Wonderful, Wonderful!

I just love information like this.

Now, add to this, that I just watches 2 Elgins sell on ebay for

$5,287.77

and

$5,781.00

so it looks like Elgin is finally getting some attention too.

I love them, and it seemed that although many do collect them, they have not always been a big topic for high end collectors, like they are now.

It's great to see the comparisons. It shows the value and care that was taken in keeping the watches up to date, fresh, and of a better quality as the competition grew.

Your watches are Fantastic! Thank you for sharing them, and the information with us.