Can anyone give info on this Lord Elgin?
Thank you.
Bulent

Better picture quality.

Hi Bulent...Nice watch. Info here:

http://elginwatches.org/databases/elgin_sn_intro.html

HELLO

ACCORDING TO ELGIN DATABASE,SERIAL NUMBER U585707,IS A GRADE 543,10 SIZE,21 JEWELS ADJUSTED,MADE IN THE YEAR 1946.TOTAL PRODUCTION 76,000 OF 19 RUNS,FIRST YEAR 1940-LAST YEAR 1955.
I HOPE IT HELPS

ANDREA

Bluent
Your watch is a great example of how the quality of Lord Elgins declined.Even so the watch is still a nice one.

I might suggest you also try to get earlier examples of Lord Elgins--some of which were works of art.

Bob

Hello Bulent, the 543 Elgins are nice watches, I have a few of them myself, in fact, one exactly like the one you have.

As Andrea wrote they are a 10s movement but Elgin made them appear larger by putting size 14 dials on all of them....

They are very classy watches, in my opinion, and are, or were, considered a Dress Watch in their day.... you have a very nice example....

Thanks for showing the watch to us....

Regards,
Jerry

Bob, why do you say that Bulent's watch demonstrates how Lord Elgins declined in quality over time? I have solid gold Lord Elgins in Grades 194, 450 (2), 451 (2), and 543 (2), and I used to have a 543 just like Bulent's. The styles of these watches evolved, of course, but the later ones are quite stylish, have substantial gold cases, keep time as well or better than the earlier ones, and have decent looking if plainer movements.

In the photo below, the leftmost column shows my 543s, the next column shows my 450s,then come the 451s, and last, but not least, my 194.

Ethan, Thanks for the picture of the Elgins.. They are sharp,neat and just pretty watches. I'd like to find any of them, but the bottom right one is my favorite. I just like the looks of it.

Ethan I am sorry but I think like Bob. I must to confess that I was sure that this watch was a fake.

Thank you to everybody.

Bulent

But what is it qualitatively, Bulent and Bob, that you think is degraded in the Grade 543 movement watches? I know they are not as collectible because they are quite commonm, unlike, e.g., the Grade 194 Lord Elgin. They lack the unique Elgin-nish of e.g., the Grade 451 Corsicans, but they have their own 40s style. Their gold cases are just as substantial. Their movements are a bit more utilitarian, but just as functional as the earlier Lord Elgins.

I knew a watchmaker who had trained in the Elgin school. He said that he thought that Elgins lost in quality after WWII. The materials were not so high in quality as before. I prefer to think that the style and emphasis just changed, and we can't evaluate them by the same standards as the ones that were made before that time. Economic factors changed, technology changed, social aesthetic changed. The watch above, I think, is a beautiful example of the art deco style, and occupies an important nitche in the evolution of style.

Steve G.

You guys are obviously Elgin sprecialists. Didn't Elgin make some S16 Lord Elgins that were railroad-grade?

Robert
There are both 12 and 16 size 23j Lord Elgins.
Both are very rare.

In 1913 a grade 194 Lord Elgin mvt sold for $99.00 while the 16 size 23 j
Grade 351 sold for $108.

The 12 size Lord Elgins were part of Grades 190 and 194.

What most people fail to remember is that Elgin was the first American company to come out with a 12 size 23j watch. Their quality was as good as anything else being made at the time.

Bob

Here is the movement in my Grade 194 (see my prior posting for a dial-side picture of this watch).

That is a beautiful watch! Was it adjusted to 5 positions?

It sure is a beautiful watch....here is the data on it from the Elgin site....

http://elginwatches.org/cgi-bin/elgin_sn?sn=12147375

2375 of 3000 in grade....

Regards,
Jerry