Hey all. I'm thinking about purchasing a Burlington 21j 16s Lever-set movement. I know that they were made by Illinois, but, are they any good? Is this movement worth the money I'll be putting into it, such as a COA, case, etc...? And, will Illinois hands fit it? Let me know. Regards, Brad

Brad some people think many watch brands are not any good unless it is the brand they collect. After giving that honest opinion I will give you another one, I have a few Burlington and Burlington Specials and I like them as watches and don't have any issues spending the money if needed for a COA, that holds true for Hampdens also (many feel they are junk too) here is a shot of one of my Burlingtons, a triple signed fance dial/hand 21j. These were RR approved on many railroads and they were made by Illinois so I really would not consider them as decked out as the same Illinois style movement but they certainly are not junk by any means, well worth collecting.

To be a primo collectible, shouldn't Burlingtons be triple-signed on the case, dial, and movement?

Brad,
Illinois hands will fit but the movement originally came in a Burlington signed case. Finding a correct case may not be easy. I've had a 19J hunting movement in my tool box, with dial and hands, for about two years sitting in an open face case. It's usually best to find a triple signed example to begin with.

I think Burlington watches are great. I've got about a dozen now. For about three months my everyday carry watch has been a 21J open face Burlington. The company sold watches by mail order and advertised to many different trades. Here's a link to some of those advertisements.

Burlington Watch Co. Advertisements

RR

In the case of the Burlington and Santa Fe watches I tend to think they fall in line with Hamilton and Elgins that were original factory cased, if they are recased then in my opinion the value drops but I don't know if you would deduct any more than you would for an factory cased Waltham, Hamilton, or Elgin that has been recased in a non-factory case.

Richard I have a 19j Burlington Special hunter movement with a nice Montgomery dial and I keep looking for a Burlington signed hunter case but I tend to think it will be a while for that to happen but I do have it in a nice hunter case so it looks good for the moment.

Claude,

I've seen a couple Burlington hunting cases for sale but they seem to go for almost as much as a complete watch. I really like the earlier Burlington hunting cases because they have the display dust cover. It seems when the 21J movements came out the display cover ended and they used a regular curvette on the hunting case.

RR

Richard,I have 2 Burlingtons both 21jewels one in a Burlington hunters case and the other in a J.Boss case.They are among my most prized watches and both keep excellant time.I too, am on the prowl for a nice Burlington case. Regards Roger

Well guys, it seems that I can't go wrong buying this Burlington! Except for the case, which doesn't really bother me too much. I don't plan on ever selling it, so a really nice gold filled case will do. But, I will keep my eyes peeled for a signed Burlington case in the future. Thanks everyone. Regards, Brad

The one thing I noticed is that Burlingtons tend to be under-appreciated and the Santa Fe appears to gain most of the attention even though they were both made by Illinois one being a 3/4 plate movement type (Santa Fe) and the other being more of a bridge type movement (Burlington) but I tend to think they were both adjusted to the same level but the Santa Fe is a bit more of eye candy type movement.

Brad,

Another thing to consider is some Burlington dials have the same numerals as Illinois higher quality watches such as the Bunn Special. You can get a nice Burlington watch for less than a sought after Illinois dial and it will look the same except for the signature. It looks like Roger, Claude, You, and I will be on the search for a signed case.

Burlington dials on left Bunn Specials on right

I really like the fancy dial and hands on Claude's watch above and can't recall seeing that dial on another Burlington.

Approximately six months ago I was the high bidder on the watch below.

RR

Case shown on page 19 in The Burlington Watch: 21 Jewels Exclusively catalog.

Richard, the dial and hands on the movement I'm considering look just like the hunter model in your last post.

Brad,
Those are the correct hands for the dial. Also, the case style is correct so that will give you an idea of what to look for. The advertisements are a guideline as to how the cases and dials changed throughout the years.
RR

Richard, the one I'm looking at is an open face. I'm seeing a case or two on ebay. One has a crappy 7j Elgin in it, and is heavily worn through on the back. Regards, Brad

I will have to take some better pictures of mine showing items closer up, the dial on mine is an ivory rather than white but is a double sunk dial with raised gold numbers and markers the the font on Burlington appears correct. Sometimes you see the moon hands on later open face Burlingtons but also some of the hunters. The case on that hunter is a looker. I had always felt that Burlington was trying to find a watch that was a bit above mid-segment quality but could be sold at mid-segment prices by forgoing some of the bells and whistles that did not add to performance and taking more of a mail-order approach rather than distribution though jewelers to save costs. I think I have about $150 into mine, after I cleaned it up it is one of my nicer looking watches.

Well, I just bought it! I've got the listing posted over in "pitfalls". I think she'll be a dandy!

Evidently they have some popularity; I've been trying to buy one on Ebay for 3 months with no success, ones without problems have been bringing strong prices relative to "book value".

They have considerable mystic due to the fact they were one of the early $ down/$ a week purchases that Americans made ...the first brick in the road to Hades, many think...but great marketing.

Richard's "Burlington Bulldog" (see above picture)--now THAT'S the dial you want!

Yeah Mike, but that "Bulldog" dial is part of a special package. The main thing being a NAWCO Bulldog case. I'm not sure exactly which movement were in these, but I've seen complete examples on ebay, and they're not cheap!

Brad, You will find a very very interesting discussion of the Burlington series in an IHC185 post at;
https://ihc185.infopop.cc/eve/f...7761/m/381100053/p/1

Thank you very much David!!! Mine looks just like the one on the far right. Except for the case. I'll give it a look. Regards, Brad