We receive an increasing number of eMail requests for information from members of the public. Here is a recent one from a gentleman in Seattle, Washington that may interest others as well...



Hello, I received a gold watch case from my aunt and I was, hoping you might be able to provide some insight to, the case, the movement or inner workings are missing., The inside of the case reads, Stamped Inside,

The Burlington Watch, 14K Gold Strata Case, guaranteed, to wear 25 years Chicago, USA, 5051553, Hand Etched Inside Very Small In Various Places, J8272B, P239B, 5129-G or 8? 8215-0576, 14082, W,

Any information and estimate of worth would be, gratfully appreciated.

Respectfully,
Greg
Seattle, WA



Here is my response...



Hello Greg,

Thanks for the question, it is an interesting one.

Let's begin with the fact "Burlington" was a mail-order watch manufactured by the Illinois Watch Company of Springfield, Illinois from the early 1900s into the 1920s time frame. They were good quality watches advertised in magazines with a coupon to send in for a catalog. As you see from your case they used a Chicago, Illinois sales office for the operation.

Burlington watches came factory cased in Burlington-marked cases. Ambiguity in watch case and jewelry content markings and confusion about them caused the US Government to step in around the early 1920s and by about 1923 they had uniform gold content marking rules in place. Your case markings which pre-date the regulations may be readily deciphered line-by-line as follows...


(1) "The Burlington Watch" signature meant the case was made for use with Burlington watches.

(2) The "14K Gold Strata" means the thin outer layer is 14K gold but the case is in actuality what we call "gold-filled" which is a rather confusing term. They made these cases by fusing a thin layer of gold on either side of hard brass under tremendous heat and pressure.

(3) "Guaranteed to wear 25 years" meant is was assured to be durable enough to not wear through to the brass for the first 25 years in normal use. Any reference to a specific period of time on a watch case is a sure indicator of it being a "gold-filled" case.

(4) The "Chicago, USA" was again their sales office address.

(5) And 5051553 was the case serial number. Close examination should reveal the last few digits on the major case components.


Finally, those five hand-scratched numbers are "service marks" using a code devised by the person doing repairs or normal service on the watch.


Hope this helps you to understand it better. By the way in addition to finding the "Burlington" signature on your case it would have been on the original movement and you would have found either "Burlington" or "Burlington Special" on the watch dial as well.

As to value, that is all directly dependent upon condition. Loose Burlington cases should be worth something in the fifty to one hundred fifty dollar range depending on style, size and again most of all the condition. If you could send along digital images that would be a big help in narrowing it down.


Check this list of "Burlington" topics in this forum...

Find or Search for "Burlington" in the "Pocket Watch Discussions" forum

Lindell





Here is a typical Burlington sold recently in our auctions...