I am trying to make an educated and informed purchase of my first watch. I have the opportunity of an Illinois Bunn Special with the following details.
21j serial #5156096
Wadsworth Bunn Special #29 14K WGF case #8328867
Illinois Montgomery dial w/Bunn Special under Illinois
From reference here dates to 1929
Very nice condition with no wear to case or crystal
Keeping good time.
Seller has owned for 25 yrs with last service 10 yrs ago.
Prices on eBay are all over the place. 2018 Guide shows $685 for mint. How much would the flawless Monty dial add to that? Seller has not set a price but is willing to negotiate based on my research. Closest I can find on eBay for ended auction was $570.
I know without pictures it is hard to say but it is very nice and very clean and running well.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Posts: 35 | Location: Ohio in the USA | Registered: February 22, 2018
The Bunn Special 21J 60 Hr would be a GREAT choice for a first watch!
$570 would be in line for a 60 hour BS with a flawless Montgomery dial and a crisp model 29 case I would sell something like this for $589 or thereabouts
If dial has hairlines or case shows wear prices decrease dramatically.
Average 21 60s only fetch about 350-375 right now. I would get return priviledge in case it's not everything the seller says, pictures are good but they cant tell the whole story
It sounds like a fair price from a collector , I can only echo what has been said , the key factors would be having everything correct , dial , hands, case , there is a listing of serial numbers for the case that you can get an idea of what movement belongs in it {look under illinois research } and e-bay is not the only place to look , Jones/Horan has an auction coming up . Good luck
Posts: 1574 | Location: Maryland in the USA | Registered: June 04, 2015
The dial is not a genuine Illinois Watch Co, it's definitely aftermarket. Also, the winding and crown wheel are discolored which lowers condition-value.
RR
Posts: 1413 | Location: Fremont, California in the USA | Registered: February 06, 2010
Adding to what Richard posted above, I see several additional corroded parts on the movement and all 3 hands are also incorrect aftermarket replacements.
Seller claims to have had it 25 years, but the aftermarket dial is a recently made item that actually devalues the entire watch. With all its problems this watch would be a VERY UNWISE purchase. "Thanks, but no thanks" ...comes to mind!
You would end up spending hundreds of dollars more to get this example back into proper condition. That would literally be throwing your money away, as an old friend once said..."Stuffing your money down a rat hole".
If you would truly like to put a worthwhile collection together then invest wisely, buy ONLY correct, original examples.
Remember: "Buy only the best, step away from the rest..."
Three more points, CONDITION, CONDITION, CONDITION.
You have been given good advice!
Lindell
Posts: 10553 | Location: Northeastern Ohio in the USA | Registered: November 19, 2002
Thank you very much for your guidance and wisdom. Once I saw the flat dial I was pretty sure it to be aftermarket. As a newcomer I appreciate every bit of help. Thanks again.
Posts: 35 | Location: Ohio in the USA | Registered: February 22, 2018
Welcome to the club Mike! The dial you need would be double sunk with the ILLINOIS in an arch fashion and the hands spade and pointer type in wine color. Hope I am correct and this is some help to you. Again Welcome to the club!
Roger
Posts: 4094 | Location: Carbon, Texas in the USA | Registered: January 24, 2010
Here's what a nice example of a 21 60 should look like. This one dates to early 1927, the last year of true Illinois production before the Hamilton buyout. I will echo everyone's opinion here and say stay away from those ratty ones. Also, do not try to buy these strictly by book prices or you'll wind up with something like the one you showed us.
The cases and dials that are this crisp are far too valuable and near impossible to find on a straight 21 60 anymore because people switched them to even more valuable watches like the 161A and 163 or sadly just parted them out to get a better price. (Notice all the 21J 60 Hr movements only on ebay) This one will be for sale soon.
Hello Mike, welcome. Ok from the stand point of a repairman's view, the dial is a metal replacement, about 50.00, that movement has alot of tarnish on the polish of the movement that I don't think will clean up, the winding wheels are not the best shape either, also the hands have some rust, overall not a bad watch, just not as clean as some, so I agree with Tom and say this watch is probably worth about 300-350.00 max..cause with me the service would be a coa, and probably a main , 60.00 service and a double sunk dial for this watch would probably cost 100.00 or more.. thank you for posting
Paul Davis
Posts: 672 | Location: Missouri in the USA | Registered: May 01, 2015
So I passed on the information received here to the seller about the Bunn Special. He agreed to sell me the watch for $250 if I was still interested. He also had several 992 Hamiltons. I ended up with a 992E 1936 vintage in a #10 case that dates 1938 with a #519 dial and a 992B 1950 vintage in a #11 case dating 1946 with a #090 melamine dial. The price for the 3 was less than the first quoted price for just the Bunn so I have some room for COA for them I hope. Thanks again for guidance.
Posts: 35 | Location: Ohio in the USA | Registered: February 22, 2018
