ELGIN WATCH COMPANY, ILLINOIS, NO. 151. 1943

Details

An American two-day model 600 marine chronometer
Elgin Watch Company, Illinois, No. 151. 1943
The silvered Arabic dial signed ELGIN U.S.A. No. 151 1943, blued steel hands, subsidiary dials for up-and-down calibrated 8 to 48, subsidiary seconds at 6, the nickel plated and damascened movement with polished steel baluster pillars, the top plate signed ELGIN 600 U.S.A. 14 JEWELS U.S. NAVY BU. SHIPS NO. 151, 1943, the escapement with steel helical spring and cut bimetallic compensated balance, Earnshaw-type spring detent escapement with adjustable block and jewelled locking stone, lacquered brass bowl with spring-loaded winding cover, the brass bound three-tier box with drop handles and rectangular metal plaque to the mid section signed ELGIN NATIONAL WATCH COMPANY, ELGIN, ILLINOIS, U.S.A.; with the original green felt-lined mahogany guard box
7½in. (19cm.) sq. box

Literature

Marvin E. Whitney, Military Timepieces, 1992, pp. 153-158

Special notice

VAT rate of 17.5% is payable on hammer price plus buyer’s premium

Lot Essay

Immediately after the attack on Pearl Harbor the Government instructed Hamilton and the Elgin National Watch Co. to make a 30-minute and 8-day marine chronometer. Hamilton had a far better set-up for increasing production whilst Elgin had to start from scratch having never made a marine chronometer before. With sources from Switzerland totally cut off it was always going to be a steep slope to climb. Their first chronometer was accepted by the Naval Observatory after considerable adjustments but the next 22 all failed. Shortly thereafter the war ended and the contract was cancelled. In all only approximately 250 of Elgin's Model 600's were sold to the public and today they are possibly the rarest 'mass-produced' chronometers on the clock market.

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