After 5 months working at the NAWCC museum, I am fairly confident in expressing who manufactured and when the first wristwatches materialized, both in Europe and America, which followed some 6 yrs after Europe.
That transition from pocket watch to wristwatch was neither quick nor simple. We see here an 1918 Elgin with offset crown at 1.00 (actually 1.30, to be exact). Now as I have explained this watch uses a 'Lepine' style movement [Open face (pocket watch) - crown at 12], which is surely rarer but not an exception. What is exceptional and very rare is the crown mounted at 1.30!
Of course this makes a lot of sense, when it comes to reading the time, the 12 o clock is just offset a small amount, add a 'red 12' and its not so difficult to read on the wrist, but to tool up for this non standard wristwatch case must have been ridiculously high to use just up a stock of Lepine movements.
Hence we see more often the 'Lepine' movements installed in what evolved as a standard wristwatch case with crown and '12' at 3 o clock.
We can find many adverts for these strange adaptions with crown and '12' at 3 o clock, but none with the crown at 1.30 - why? It cost so much to manufacture this non standard case, surely the manufacturer would want to promote them? Or maybe they were 'one-off' drawing board prototypes that failed to catch the manufacturers attention and were immediately doomed to the scrap yard, who knows? In horology we close one mystery and open up two more.
Anyway here first is is my first procurement a very, very rare 1918 Elgin with the crown and 12 at 1.30.
You can see the red 12 makes it favorable to read the time.
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I loved this watch, but to appreciate horology, I had to have the set. Therefore recently Imanaged to acquire this rare Elgin dated 1918.
The serial numbers on this timepiece is 21,542,820. Some 452,000 higher (later) then my other offset crown model at 1.30 (S/N: 21,091,010). Telling us 2 things. Firstly Elgin made and sold a hell of a lot of watches in 1918 - 'Trench' or 'pocket' I do not know, but a lot of timepieces and secondly and more importantly by the later period they had abandoned crown and 12 at 1.30, and decided to throw these Lepine movements into standard wrist watch cases with crown and 12 at 3 o clock - nearly impossible to read.
That said, here is mine and I love it. 1918 Elgin- crown and 12 at 3 o'clock
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Look at that outstanding 100% original crown, and those lugs!
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And The wrist shots:
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And here I have a very rare picture of Elgin's offset crown and 12 at 3. Dated 1918.
Note the serial number 21,381,113, now ONLY some 290,000 later than my original with crown/12 at 1.30. Now in 1918 Elgin were manufacturing some 1 million watches a year, so we can 'guestimate' they moved from '1.30 offset' to '3 o'clock offset' within 3 months!
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And Vacheron and Constantine - relaunch of their 1919 model - some 64 made, priced at $36,000, it can ONLY go UP:
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Note, Vacheron also made in 1919 a few with offset to 'left, at 10.30! ANYONE seen that!
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Finally my two Elgin's side by side.
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Acknowledgements
Stan Anthony Czubernat - Elgin 1918 - crown at 1.30. Early Elgin advert crown and 12 at 3 o clock.
Mark - trenchwatchrestorations - Elgin 1918 - crown at 3.
NAWCC seeks to encourage and stimulate interest in the art and science of timekeeping.
Find out what we’re all about • Calendar of Events • Give a Gift • Join Us!
p: 717.684.8261 • f: 717.684.0878 • Welcome to NAWCC
NAWCC, Inc. • 514 Poplar St. • Columbia PA 17512-2130
That transition from pocket watch to wristwatch was neither quick nor simple. We see here an 1918 Elgin with offset crown at 1.00 (actually 1.30, to be exact). Now as I have explained this watch uses a 'Lepine' style movement [Open face (pocket watch) - crown at 12], which is surely rarer but not an exception. What is exceptional and very rare is the crown mounted at 1.30!
Of course this makes a lot of sense, when it comes to reading the time, the 12 o clock is just offset a small amount, add a 'red 12' and its not so difficult to read on the wrist, but to tool up for this non standard wristwatch case must have been ridiculously high to use just up a stock of Lepine movements.
Hence we see more often the 'Lepine' movements installed in what evolved as a standard wristwatch case with crown and '12' at 3 o clock.
We can find many adverts for these strange adaptions with crown and '12' at 3 o clock, but none with the crown at 1.30 - why? It cost so much to manufacture this non standard case, surely the manufacturer would want to promote them? Or maybe they were 'one-off' drawing board prototypes that failed to catch the manufacturers attention and were immediately doomed to the scrap yard, who knows? In horology we close one mystery and open up two more.
Anyway here first is is my first procurement a very, very rare 1918 Elgin with the crown and 12 at 1.30.
You can see the red 12 makes it favorable to read the time.
I loved this watch, but to appreciate horology, I had to have the set. Therefore recently Imanaged to acquire this rare Elgin dated 1918.
The serial numbers on this timepiece is 21,542,820. Some 452,000 higher (later) then my other offset crown model at 1.30 (S/N: 21,091,010). Telling us 2 things. Firstly Elgin made and sold a hell of a lot of watches in 1918 - 'Trench' or 'pocket' I do not know, but a lot of timepieces and secondly and more importantly by the later period they had abandoned crown and 12 at 1.30, and decided to throw these Lepine movements into standard wrist watch cases with crown and 12 at 3 o clock - nearly impossible to read.
That said, here is mine and I love it. 1918 Elgin- crown and 12 at 3 o'clock
Look at that outstanding 100% original crown, and those lugs!
And The wrist shots:
And here I have a very rare picture of Elgin's offset crown and 12 at 3. Dated 1918.
Note the serial number 21,381,113, now ONLY some 290,000 later than my original with crown/12 at 1.30. Now in 1918 Elgin were manufacturing some 1 million watches a year, so we can 'guestimate' they moved from '1.30 offset' to '3 o'clock offset' within 3 months!
And Vacheron and Constantine - relaunch of their 1919 model - some 64 made, priced at $36,000, it can ONLY go UP:
Note, Vacheron also made in 1919 a few with offset to 'left, at 10.30! ANYONE seen that!
Finally my two Elgin's side by side.
Acknowledgements
Stan Anthony Czubernat - Elgin 1918 - crown at 1.30. Early Elgin advert crown and 12 at 3 o clock.
Mark - trenchwatchrestorations - Elgin 1918 - crown at 3.
NAWCC seeks to encourage and stimulate interest in the art and science of timekeeping.
Find out what we’re all about • Calendar of Events • Give a Gift • Join Us!
p: 717.684.8261 • f: 717.684.0878 • Welcome to NAWCC
NAWCC, Inc. • 514 Poplar St. • Columbia PA 17512-2130
