18-Size Bunn & Bunn Special Archive -- Production, Plate Patterns, Dials & Varieties

NOTE:


This will be an information-only (closed or locked) topic at least for the foreseeable future while I am building it.

Your suggestions, contributions and comments are welcome in a separate information-gathering topic:

18S RRG Information & Comment-Gathering Topic


Now that the plate patterns and dials are in, I'm moving on to the movement marking varieties. I'd like you to post any better versions of the images I've posted or images for varieties where no image is posted yet, and of course your suggestions and comments are welcome at any time.


Foreword:

I've undertaken a project to pull together a centralized source of collector information on the Illinois 18-Size RRG Model 5 and Model 6 Bunn and Bunn Special full-plate movements, one of my favorite families of watches.

What is so fascinating to me about these watches is the tremendous diversity of varieties and variants, and how they changed through the years, as so superbly set forth in "The Blue Illinois Bible" (aka Meggers & Ehrhardt's Illinois Watch Co. Encyclopedia and Price Guide, American Pocket Watches Volume 2, Heart of America Press, 1985). This is a pioneering work of monumental scope and staggering detail, which IMHO has done much to lay the foundation for the present-day collectibility of Illinois watches.

However, it's a big, heavy book that can be overwhelming to deal with at times, and not the easiest thing to use when you want to look something up in a hurry. So I've undertaken to boil down some of the key bits of collector information it contains, in an online format that I hope will be easy to understand and use as a handy resource when you want to look up something in a posting here, an online auction. etc.

What I will be primarily doing in this project is summarizing, reorganizing and correlating the results of previously published research and combining it with present-day images and other information what has come to light since 1985. However, the credit for the original research on which everything is based belongs entirely to Mr. Bill Meggers. Therefore, I am standing on the shoulders of a giant, one of the great men in the history of our hobby.

General Note on Terminology:

What I'm presenting here is only a summary, the full details are in Meggers & Ehrhardt. To avoid confusing those who are also referring to the book, I'm trying to be careful about adhering to the terminology Mr. Meggers used and providing the present-day terms only in (parentheses) for the sake of clarity, where there is a significant difference.

All that said, let's get into the good stuff!




18-Size Bunn and Bunn Special Production Tables by Jewel Count


***************** 18-SIZE ILLINOIS BUNNS *********************

____________________Production_________________Percentage____
___________________ by Jewel Count______________Breakdown____

Jewel___________HC_______OF_______TOTAL_______HC______OF__
Count

17____________3350_____13700______17050_______20%_____80%
19_______________0______3900_______3900________0%____100%

Grand Totals____3350_____17600______20950_______16%_____84%

***********************************************************


************** 18-SIZE ILLINOIS BUNN SPECIALS *****************

____________________Production_________________Percentage____
___________________ by Jewel Count______________Breakdown____

Jewel___________HC_______OF_______TOTAL_______HC______OF__
Count
21_____________8060_____56818_____64878_______12%_____88%
23______________710______6060______6770_______10%_____90%
24_____________2870_____11421_____14291_______20%_____80%
26________________0_______371_______371________0%____100%

Grand Totals____11640______74670_____86310_______13%____87%

***********************************************************

The Plate Damaskeening Patterns


During the long production life of the 18-size Bunn and Bunn Special nickel movements (1886-1924), there were eight basic plate damaskeening patterns.


These are (see Meggers & Ehrhardt, pages 83-88 and 92-94):

1. First Pattern -- Circular.
2. Second Pattern -- Wavy Ribbon Gold-Inlaid.
3. Third Pattern -- Gold-Inlaid Circle.
4. Fourth Pattern -- Bright Spotted.
5. Fifth Pattern -- Sunburst.
6. Sixth Pattern -- Narrow Stripes.
7. Seventh Pattern -- All-Over Gold-Inlaid Circular.
8. Eighth Pattern -- All-Over Gold-Inlaid Linear-Circular.

We will now discuss each pattern in order, including the types of movements and varieties where it may be found, available production information, and most importantly, an image of the pattern.


NOTE: The images posted here are the best ones available to me at the time I built the archive.

If you have a better image for any of the patterns, please be good enough to post it on information gathering topic linked above, as you will not be able to post it on this information-only (closed) topic. Photo credits will be given.

First Pattern -- Circular


The First Pattern will only be found on early varieties of the Bunn and Bunn Special nickel movements: two varieties of the 17-jewel Bunn and one variety of the 21-jewel Bunn Special.

1. 17-Jewel Bunn -- The First Pattern was used on all 3,650 of the Variety 1 movements, including 1,650 hunter movements and 2,000 open-face movements, produced circa 1886-1898, with either black or gold-filled engraving.

The First Pattern was also used on all 200 open-face PL movements of Variety 6, produced in 1896 with black-filled engraving.


2. 21-Jewel Bunn Special -- The First Pattern was used on 2,980 of the Variety 1 movements, including 1,380 hunters and 1,600 open-face, produced circa 1894-1898, with black-filled engraving.


Now here's an example of the First Pattern on an open-face 17-jewel Bunn Variety 1 with gold-filled engraving. (Photo Credit: Bill Manders).


First Pattern -- Circular -- Gold-Filled Engraving

Second Pattern -- Wavy Ribbon Gold-Inlaid Nickel


The Second Pattern will only be found at the opposite ends of the jewel count spectrum, on one Variety of the 17-jewel Bunn and the 26-jewel Bunn Special.


1. 17-Jewel Bunn -- The Second Pattern was used on all 6,300 Variety 2 movements, consisting of 1,500 hunters and 4,800 open-face, produced circa 1898-1905, with gold-filled engraving.

2. 26-Jewel Bunn Special -- The Second Pattern was used on all 371 open-face movements, produced circa 1905-1912, with gold-filled engraving.


Now here's an example of the Second Pattern on an open-face 17-jewel Bunn Variety 2 with gold-filled engraving. (Photo Credit: Lorne Wasylishen).


Second Pattern -- Wavy Ribbon Gold-Inlaid Nickel -- Gold-Filled Engraving

Third Pattern -- Gold Inlaid Circle


The Third Pattern is only found on early varieties of 21-jewel and 23-jewel Bunn Special nickel movements: on one variety on the 21-jewel model and on two varieties of the 23-jewel model. It is by far the commonest of all the gold-inlaid patterns.

1. 21-Jewel Bunn Special -- The Third Pattern was used on 17,650 watches in Variety 1, including 3,100 hunter and 14,550 open-face movements, produced circa 1894-1905, with black-filled engraving.

2. 23-Jewel Bunn Special -- The Third pattern was used on the 120 watches of Variety 1, consisting of 110 hunter and 10 open-face movements, produced circa 1896, with black-filled engraving.

The Third Pattern was also used on all 300 hunter movements in Variety 2, produced circa 1910-1911, with black-filled engraving.

In all the Third Pattern was used on 20.9% of total Bunn Special production, the second commonest pattern overall. The Third and Fourth Patterns combined account for 92.8% of Bunn Special production.


Now here's an example of the Third Pattern on a 21-jewel Bunn Special Variety 1 hunter with black-filled engraving. (Photo Credit: Ed Parsons)


Third Pattern -- Gold-Inlaid Circle -- Black-Filled Engraving

Fourth Pattern -- Bright Spotted


The Fourth Pattern is found only on 21-jewel, 23-jewel and 24-jewel Bunn Specials. The Fourth Pattern saw a long production run (1899-1924) and is found on far more Bunn Special movements than any other pattern.

1. 21-Jewel Bunn Special -- The Fourth Pattern was used on 6,800 Variety 1 movements, and on all Variety 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9 and 10 movements, making a grand total of 41,398, representing 63.8% of 21-jewel Bunn Special production, which were produced circa 1899-1924, all with black-filled engraving, except for some of the Variety 5 and Variety 6 movements that had gold-filled engraving.

2. 23-Jewel Bunn Special -- The Fourth Pattern was used on all Variety 3 and 4 movements, making a grand total of 6,350, representing 93.8% of 23-jewel Bunn Special production and consisting of 300 hunter movements and 6,050 open-face movements, which were produced circa 1908-1917, with black, red and gold-filled engraving.

3. 24-Jewel Bunn Special -- This is the only Bunn Special jewel count with the same plate pattern across the board. The Fourth Pattern was used throughout all 3 varieties, for a grand total of 14,291 movements, consisting of 2,870 hunter movements and 11,421 open-face movements, which were produced circa 1899-1919, all with black-filled engraving.

In all, there were 62,309 Fourth Pattern movements, which comprised 71.9% of all Bunn Special production.


Now here's an example of the Fourth Pattern on an open-face 21-jewel Bunn Special Variety 5 with black-filled engraving. (Photo Credit: Ed Parsons)



Fourth Pattern -- Bright Spotted -- Black-Filled Engraving

Fifth Pattern -- Sunburst


The Fifth Pattern is found only on Bunn movements, in 3 varieties of the 17-jewel Bunn and in all 4 varieties of the 19-jewel Bunn.

1. 17-Jewel Bunn -- The Fifth Pattern was used on the 2,600 movements of Variety 3, all of which were open-face, produced circa 1905-1906.

It was also used on 3,400 Variety 4 movements, consisting of 200 hunters and 3,200 open-faced movements, produced circa 1906-1916.

The last 17-jewel Bunn movements produced, circa 1918-1920, the 900 open-face movements of Variety 5, all used the Fifth Pattern.

The Fifth Pattern was used on 6,900 17-jewel Bunn movements, which represented 40.5% of total production, and consisted of 200 hunters and 6,700 open-face movements, all with black-filled engraving.


2. 19-Jewel Bunn -- The Fifth Pattern was used throughout all 4 varieties, making a total of 3,900 movements, produced circa 1908-1915. All were open faced, with 2,000 movements having black-filled engraving and 1,900 gold-filled.

In all the Fifth Pattern was used on 51.6% of Bunn production.


Now here is an example of the Fifth Pattern on an open-face 17-jewel Bunn Variety 3 movement with gold-filled engraving. (Photo Credit: Roger Stephens)



Fifth Pattern -- Sunburst -- Gold-Filled Engraving

Sixth Pattern -- Narrow Stripes


The Sixth Pattern is found only on 21-jewel Bunn Specials.


1. 21-Jewel Bunn Special -- The Sixth Pattern is found on 1,500 open-face Variety 1 movements, produced circa 1904-1905, with black-filled engraving making it a very uncommon watch.


Now here's an example of the Sixth Pattern on an open-face 21-jewel Bunn Special Variety 1 with black-filled engraving. (Photo Credit: Ed Parsons)



Sixth Pattern -- Narrow Stripes -- Black-Filled Engraving

Seventh Pattern -- All-Over Gold-Inlaid Circular


The Seventh Pattern is found only on 2 varieties of 21-jewel Bunn Special.

1. 21-jewel Bunn Special -- The Seventh Pattern was used on 650 Variety 5 movements and 400 Variety 8 movements. These were all open-face and were produced Circa 1905-1913, with gold-filled engraving.


Now here is an example of the Seventh Pattern on an open-face 21-jewel Bunn Special Variety 5 movement with gold-filled engraving. (Photo Credit: Jones & Horan)



Seventh Pattern -- All-Over Gold-Inlaid Circular -- Gold-Filled Engraving

Eighth Pattern -- All-Over Gold-Inlaid Linear-Circular


The Eighth Pattern is the scarcest of all the patterns, being found only on only 300 movements in two varieties of 21-jewel Bunn Special.

1, 21-jewel Bunn Special -- The Eighth Pattern was used on 100 Variety 7 and 200 Variety 8 movements. These were all open-face and were produced circa 1905-1906, with gold-filled engraving.


Now here is an example of the Eighth Pattern on an open-face 21-jewel Bunn Special Variety 8 movement with gold-filled engraving. (Photo Credit: Jones & Horan)



Eighth Pattern -- All-Over Gold-Inlaid Linear-Circular -- Gold-Filled Engraving

The Dials


An amazing diversity of double-sunk porcelain enamel railroad-style dials were used on the Bunn's and Bunn Specials over their long production run.

In rough chronological order the basic styles are:


1. Plain AN or RN, signed Illinois Watch Co., first in Old English, then in Script.


2. Fancy RN, with Illinois Watch Co. or Private Label signature in script.


3. Bold Gothic AN, signed Illinois Watch Co., in Old English, with 3 variants: Open Top 4, Serif Top 4 and Pointed-Top 4.

4. Bold Gothic AN, signed ILLINOIS in Plain Bold Arabic (a.k.a. straight-line ILLINOIS).


5. Plain Bold AN, signed Illinois in Plain Bold Arabic (a.k.a. straight-line ILLINOIS).


6. Bold AN, signed ILLINOIS in Plain Block letters (Arched ILLINOIS).


Many of 6 basic styles also had Montgomery-style marginal-minutes, 24-hour Canadian-style and private label versions, as well as other marking variants. As the dial styes evolved over time, the general pattern was that first the signature changed, then the hour numeral font. If you keep that in mind as you read down the list above, it will all make more sense.

As with everything else in this archive, what I'm presenting here is only a summary, the full details are in Meggers & Ehrhardt. To avoid confusing those who are also referring to the book, I'm trying to be careful about adhering to the terminology Mr. Meggers used and providing the present-day terms only in (parentheses) for the sake of clarity, where there is a significant difference.

All this diversity of styles and signatures through the years can be confusing at times, but it's also one of the things that makes collecting Illinois watches so interesting.

18-Size Bunn & Bunn Special Dials

General

Design -- All 18-size Bunn's and Bunn Specials came with double-sunk glass enamel (a.k.a. porcelain enamel) dials. Sunk-Seconds (a.k.a. Single-Sunk) dials were also made, but they were used on lesser grades.

Signatures -- The different styles of dial signature are an important key to determining production dates. In chronological order, the primary signature styles were:

-- Illinois Watch Co. in Old English or Cursive Script (circa 1886-1910)
-- ILLINOIS in Plain Bold Arabic (circa 1910-1917)
-- ILLINOIS in Block Letters (Arched) (circa 1917-1924)

Descriptions -- We will now discuss the different styles of dials and their variants that Illinois used over the years, in rough chronological order. Notice how the dial styles gradually modernized, first dropping Roman dials, and then shifting from the old-style "Illinois Watch Co." signatures in Old English and cursive script, to a much more modern-looking "ILLINOIS" signature in Plain Bold Arabic and then plain block letters while keeping the old-style Bold Gothic numerals. The final years of 18-size RRG production saw the introduction of very modern-looking Bold Arabic numerals similar to those then in use on 16-size Illinois RRG watches.



1. Roman Numeral Dials

Roman Numeral dials are found across the board on early Bunn and Bunn Special watches, and were used on both open-face and hunter movements, with Illinois watch Co. or private label signature in cursive script.

There were two basic types of Roman dials: Plain, which were used on Bunn movements, and Fancy Roman numerals for the Bunn Specials.

In an effort enter the new century with a more modern look, Roman dials were discontinued circa 1900.

Now here is an image of Plain Roman Numeral dial with script signature on an early 17-jewel Bunn. (Photo Credit: Lorne Wasylishen)


Plain Roman Numeral Dial -- Illinois Watch Co. Signature in Cursive Script

1. Roman Numeral Dials (Continued)


Here is an image showing a Fancy Roman Numeral dial with Private Label signature in script and block letters, on an early open-face Bunn Special. (Photo Credit: Jones & Horan)


Fancy Roman Numeral Dial -- Private Label Signature in Cursive Script & Block Letters

2. Early Plain Arabic Numeral Dials


The earliest Plain Arabic dials are found only on Bunn movements. They were signed Illinois Watch Co., first in Old English and later in cursive script.


Now here is an image showing aa open-face Bunn with an early Plain Arabic dial signed Illinois Watch Co. in Old English. (Photo Credit: Jones & Horan)


Plain Arabic Dial -- Illinois Watch Co. Signature in Old English

2. Early Plain Arabic Numeral Dials (Continued)


Now here is an image showing a Plain Arabic dial signed Illinlois Watch Co. in cursive script on an early 17-jewel Bunn. (Photo Credit: Jones & Horan)


Plain Arabic Numeral Dial -- Illinois Watch Co. Signature in Cursive Script

2. Early Plain Arabic Numeral Dials (Continued)


Here is an image showing a seldom-seen variant, the 24-hour version of the Plain Arabic Numeral dial with Illinois Watch Co. signature in cursive script on an open-face 17-jewel Bunn. (Photo Credit: Lorne Wasylishen)


24-Hour Plain Arabic Dial -- Illinois Watch Co. Signature in Cursive Script

3. Bold Gothic Arabic Numeral Dials


The Bold Gothic dials are found on more varieties of Bunn and Bunn Special movements across the board than any other style, and are the numeral style most collectors associate with the Model 5 and Model 6 RRG watches.



Bold Gothic AN Variants -- There are three primary variants, distinguished by the style of the four-hour numeral as it evolved over time. They are, in historical order:

-- Open-Top Four

-- Serif-Top Four

-- Pointed-Top Four


All were signed Illinois Watch Co. in Old English.


Now here is an image showing the earliest and least common variant, the Bold Gothic Arabic Numeral dial with Open-Top Four. (Photo Credit: Jones & Horan)



Bold Gothic Arabic Numeral Dial with Open-Top Four

3. Bold Gothic Arabic Numeral Dials (Continued)



Here is an image showing the second and somewhat more common variant, the Bold Gothic Arabic Numeral dial with Serif-Top Four. (Photo Credit: Jones & Horan)



Bold Gothic Arabic Numeral Dial with Serif-Top Four

3. Bold Gothic Arabic Numeral Dials (Continued)



Now here is an image showing the last and most common variant, the Bold Gothic Arabic Numeral dial with Pointed-Top Four. (Photo Credit: Eric Unselt)



Bold Gothic Arabic Numeral Dial with Pointed-Top Four

3. Bold Gothic Arabic Numeral Dials (Continued)



Here is an image showing a very rare variant on the Bold Gothic Arabic Numeral dial with Pointed-Top Four, on an open-face 21-jewel Bunn Special. It's marked "TWENTY ONE RUBY JEWELS" in red above the seconds bit. (Photo Credit: Jones & Horan)



Bold Gothic Arabic Numeral Dial with Pointed-Top Four -- Signed Illinois Watch Co. in Old English -- Marked "TWENTY ONE RUBY JEWELS "Above the Seconds Bit

3. Bold Gothic Arabic Numeral Dials (Continued)


Here is another seldom-seen variant, the wide-chapter 24-hour Canadian-Style version of the Bold Gothic Arabic Numeral dial with Pointed-Top Four, on a 26-jewel Bunn Special. (Photo Credit: Jones & Horan)




24-Hour Canadian-Style Bold Gothic Arabic Numeral Dial with Pointed-Top Four -- Signed Illinois Watch Co. in Old English

4. Later Bold Gothic Arabic Numeral Dials


Starting circa 1910, the RRG dials got an updated look, with a more modern-looking dial signature, "ILLINOIS" in Plain Bold Arabic (a.k.a. straight-line ILLINOIS), but still retained the traditional Bold Gothic Arabic Numerals. All these later Bold Gothic AN dials had the Pointed-Top Four.



Now here is an example of a Montgomery-style Bold Gothic AN dial on an open-face 21-jewel Bunn Special, signed ILLINOIS in Plain Bold Arabic (straight-line ILLINOIS). (Photo Credit: Ed Parsons)




Montgomery-Style Bold Gothic AN Dial -- Signed ILLINOIS in Plain Bold Arabic

4. Later Bold Gothic Arabic Numeral Dials (Continued)


Here's an image showing the 24-hour Canadian-style version of the Bold Gothic AN dial with Plain Bold Arabic (straight-line) ILLINOIS signature (Photo Credit: Jones & Horan)



Montgomery-Style Bold Gothic AN Dial -- Signed ILLINOIS in Plain Bold Arabic

4. Later Bold Gothic Arabic Numeral Dials (Continued)


Starting circa 1917, last variety of Bold Gothic AN dials adopted the Plain Block Letter (Arched) style "ILLINOIS" signature then in use on 16-size Illinois RRG watches.


Now here is an image showing an example of a Montgomery-Style Bold Gothic AN dial signed ILLINOIS in Plain Block Letters (Arched ILLINOIS). (Photo Credit: Jones & Horan)


Montgomery-Style Bold Gothic AN Dial -- Signed ILLINOIS in Plain Block Letters

6. Later Plain Arabic Numeral Dials


Starting circa 1910, the old-style Bold Gothic Arabic numerals that had dominated 18-size RRG production for many years began to give way to more modern-looking numeral fonts.

The first of these new dial styles simply had hour numerals in the same the Plain Bold Arabic font that had been in use for the dial signature since it was shortened to ILLINOIS. This new style dial had a clean, starkly modern look, a big change from earlier more ornate styles.

Now here is an image showing a Montgomery-style Plain Bold Arabic Numeral dial, signed ILLINOIS in Plain Bold Arabic, on a 21-jewel Bunn Special hunter (circa 1910). (Photo Credit: Ed Parsons)



Montgomery-Style Plain Bold AN Dial -- Signed ILLINOIS in Plain Bold Arabic

6. Later Plain Arabic Numeral Dials (Continued)


Here's an image showing a Bold AN dial with Plain Block Letter (arched) ILLINOIS signature on very late 17-jewel Bunn (Photo Credit: Jones & Horan)


Plain Bold AN Dial with Plain Block Letter (Arched) ILLINOIS Signature

7. The End of the Line -- Bold (Heavy) Arabic Dials


The last 18-size Bunn's and Bunn Specials looked very much like their 16-size counterparts.

First, a larger size Bold Arabic (a.k.a. Heavy Arabic) hour font was introduced, while retaining the Plain Bold Arabic (straight-line)ILLINOIS signature that had been in use for some years. Then the transition was completed by adopting the Plain Block Letter (arched) ILLINOIS signature.

Now here is an image showing a Bold Arabic dial with Plain Bold Arabic (straight-line) ILLINOIS signature. (Photo Credit : Jones & Horan)


Bold Arabic Dial -- Plain Bold Arabic (Straight-Line) ILLINOIS Signature

7. The End of the Line -- Bold (Heavy) Arabic Dials (Continued)


Here is an image showing the last style of 18-size Bunn Special dials produced, a Bold (Heavy) Arabic dial with Plain Block Letter (arched) ILLINOIS signature dial on a 21-jewel Bunn Special from the last production run in 1924. Note: This dial has "Arrows-In" 5-minute markers, just like contemporary 16-size Illinois RRG dials. (Photo Credit: Jones & Horan)


Bold Arabic Numeral Dial -- Plain Block Letter (Arched) ILLINOIS Signature

The End of the Line -- Bold (Heavy) Arabic Dials (Continued)


<< Space Reserved >>

The Movement Marking Varieties


Mr. Meggers describes 6 varieties of 17-jewel Bunn, 4 varieties of 19-jewel Bunn, 10 varieties of 21-jewel Bunn Special, 4 varieties of 23-jewel Bunn Special, 3 Varieties of 24-jewel Bunn Special and 1 variety of 26-jewel Bunn Special based upon differences in how the movements were marked. In addition, Lorne and I have "discovered" a movement marking variety of 24-jewel Bunn Special that is not described in the book.

The eventual goal will be to have descriptions & movement images for all 30 varieties, but assembling all those photos may take a while, so I plan to start with the text descriptions and the drop in the photos as I get them.

In the meantime I'd appreciate any images you can post that would be suitable for the movement variety archive, either better versions of images I have already posted, or to add an image for varieties with only a text description, and of course your comments and suggestions are always welcome.

Please post everything in this topic:


18S RRG Information & Comment-Gathering Topic

Varieties of 17-Jewel Bunn Nickel Movements

Variety 1 -- Produced 1886-1898, Total Production = 3650, 1650 hunter and 2000 open-face.
First Pattern (Circular) with black or gold-filled engraving.

First movement #507401
Last movement #1382100


Movements Marked:


BUNN -- SPRINGFIELD, ILL. --17 JEWELS (or unmarked) -- SAFETY PINION - ADJUSTED


Variety 1 Movement Image -- Gold-Filled Engraving (Photo Credit: Jones & Horan)