Hello all,

I’m relatively new to IHC185 and in an ideal world, I would have found out about this site before making some acquisitions.

My interest in watches comes from my mechanical engineering background and interest in chronometry. After doing some basic research, I found American ingenuity in the production of high quality watches to be fascinating and got hooked!

Movements tend to interest me more, then say the dials and cases. Besides the Hamilton Model 22 Deck Watch, it is the Illinois Bunn Specials with 60 hour motor barrels and Elinvar that attracted me the most, so I went shopping and picked up two 161A and one 163A based pocket watches. The dials and hands are correct from everything that I’ve seen and read here on IHC185, but a couple of the cases are not correct.

At first this did not bother me too much, as I read that movements were often re-cased as needed and that “back in the day”, the original owners of these watches didn’t necessarily place as much of a value on the case as the collectors of today do. But the more I learn from everybody here (you people are dangerous ), the more I want to try and make these watches “whole” again. I know that this can be quite challenging, but I like this hobby and it is quite addictive!

A summary of what I have:

Watch #1:
161A Type II B, movement # 5481543, made in 1931

This movement is in a WGF Model 206 case, #7102021. This should be the original (or at least correct era) case but the threads are unfortunately cross-threaded. I am currently looking for somebody that can repair cross-threading and am temporarily using another case (a Hamilton, for goodness sake ) for this watch.

Watch #2:
163A Type II B, movement # 5448619, made in 1931 (worth adding to the 7 Stars database?)

This movement is in a YGF First Model case, #8283306. This is a Bunn Special case, but it is not original to this watch. The case number indicates that it is from 1929, and there is a second set of case screw marks on it, though fairly light. The case itself is in quite good condition.

From what I’ve seen in the “7-Stars” thread and the “Bunn Special Wadsworth Case” thread, other watches with movement serial numbers close to mine were cased in:

Model 108s, with S/N in the 8630xxx – 8631xxx range
Model 107s
Model 118s

I understand the Wadsworth Model 108s have S/N that can provide a rough timeline to see if things are correct era, but I need help understanding what range of years makes up “correct era”. For example, the Model 107 came out in 1932 and the Model 118 came out in 1935. I know that none of the production information for cases and movements are “100% set in stone” and that a one year difference between movement and case production dates is well within reason. But without the knowledge gained here and original advertisements, I would have guessed that the Model 118 would be too late to be the correct era for a movement with a S/N close to the one I have (1931 movement with 1935 or newer case).

Is my 1929 First Model case close enough to be considered current era for the movement? Or should I be looking for a Model 107, 108, 118 and/or 206 case in order to for it to be considered correct? (This would also apply to watch #1, which also has a movement from 1931 – just in case I can’t get the 206 case fixed).

Watch #3:
161A Type II B, movement # 5527929, made in 1937

This movement is in a very worn out Wadsworth Model 108 case. I originally bought this watch as a spare parts watch for the other 2 watches above, but my watchmaker has been able to make all 3 watches run very well without needing to pillage from this one. This has changed my thoughts and I now want to be able to find an appropriate case for this watch so, in 2-4 years, I can give both 161As to my two godsons as high-school graduation gifts.

I am guessing that a correct era case for this watch would be a Model 107, 108 or 128?

I know that finding correct era cases won’t be easy or cheap. Any assistance you can provide in helping this newbie would be greatly appreciated! Thanks also for your willingness to read through this long post.

Best Regards, Dan

Dan,

Welcome to IHC185. Yes, we strive for correctness in our collections. Original or as it could have been.

I'll add your 163A to the Type II-B serial number list in the Seven Stars Database.

Check with Leon Harris for case repairs:

https://ihc185.infopop.cc/eve/f...6013713/m/5481052062

The Case 206 is fine for watch #1. The first model case is really a couple of years off for watch #2, I'd go for a later case such as those you listed. I concur with your choice of cases for watch #3.

Thanks Ed,

I saw the information about Leon Harris before. I planned on contacting him to see if he can fix cross threading problems.

Well, I knew I'd be looking for at least one case, now it looks like two. So the search begins!

Best Regards, Dan