July 02, 2014, 11:02
Dr. Debbie IrvineRobert,
The dials you are thinking of with "23J" markings were introduced after the 1928 takeover of Illinois by the Hamilton Watch Company. At that time they introduced marked by jewel count dials and eventually numbered grades such as 161, 163, 161A and 163A the dials for which are the ones we are discussing here.
Specifically, the "23J" dials are shown and explained here in "• FIVE GENUINE ILLINOIS 161 AND 163 VARIANT DIALS INCLUDING "23J" DIALS IN DETAIL •" and there you will see each of the variants, the proper titles and some tips on spotting fakes that show up every now and then. That topic contains a watershed of information.
As you will see the "23" jewel marking between Illinois and Bunn Special shows up on the least common of "23-Jewel" dials and there is no comparable 21-Jewel variant, the closest being the 161 marked "21-Jewel 60-Hour" dial which is the first one shown in the "• FIVE GENUINE ILLINOIS 161 AND 163 VARIANT DIALS INCLUDING "23J" DIALS IN DETAIL •" highly informative topic.
The reference to "flying" when it comes to the numbers on dials is a misnomer as there are no wings or anything associated with flying. The terms we use here are the correct terms, correctly used in order to avoid any confusion.
Several watch companies used jewel-count markings on their dials, it was a popular marking.
Debbie
