The Illinois "Piccadilly" is a rare, remarkably attractive art deco wrist watch. It was produced by the Illinois Watch Company. This firm didn't produce many solid gold watches (Only 3 or 4 models, as I recall), and many of the most desired are gold filled....like the Piccadilly. As you may know, the Hamilton Watch Company of Lancaster PA bought the Illinois Watch Company in the late 1920's. Hamilton had just produced the enamel bezel watches: Spur, Coronado, and Piping Rock, and they bought Illinois because they had a track record of producing very stylish wrist watches, and because they had a rectangular movement. At the time, Hamilton only had round movements, which made production of long, narrow rectangular watches impossible.

The Piccadilly is a rare wrist watch. One appears on Ebay a few times a year, usually in white gold filled, with a plain (vs. engraved) Bezel. Today, there are three for you to look at. The green gold filled version is the first one I've ever seen. Let's enjoy these watches, and if the mood strikes you, voice a thought or two. Let's see how expensive these get.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=31387&item=2671693374

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=31387&item=2672208365

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=31387&item=2672206325

Bill Hansen
IHC# 198

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2672623950

Bill Hansen
IHC# 198