WE CONSISTENTLY SELL THE LOWEST PRICED GENUINE ROLEX WATCHES ON THE WEB. ALL PICTURES ARE OF THE ACTUAL WATCH FOR SALE.
Guaranteed to be as described and satisfaction guaranteed, this is a very nice Elgin model 1, grade 223, size 0, fifteen jewel pocket watch movement made c. 1902 which has been cased in a new custom made 36mm silicon bronze wrist watch case. This watch case is hand made and our fourth prototype of it's kind. We have decided to sell this watch at half the price we will be charging for these because it is not our final version.This will be our final prototype before settle on a design. Argentium silver, silicon bronze, and gold eventually. Men made the switch from pocket watches to wrist watches after the first World War because they found it to be problematic to be fumbling around in their pockets to check the time with gloves on, in a trench and taking fire. Many pocket watches were converted to wrist watches in the trenches by simply soldering wire lugs on to attach them to the wrist with a strap.
From the mid 1800's through the early 1900's the USA made the best and most beautiful watches in the world. The Swiss actually made some Swiss fakes of American models. With it's fired glass enamel dial and dark heat blued hands this watch calls back to that time and reminds you of that every time you check your wrist. Turning the watch over an extra large observation window has been cut into the case back to observe the century and a quarter old movement. This watch will come with our sales receipt and our Certificate of Authenticity (COA).
The idea of putting pocket watch movements from the heyday of American watchmaking into modern cases is not new. We feel that the wrong movements have been used in the past however. The conversions that watchmakers have been making have been taking the beautiful and highly accurate Railroad grade watches and casing them in custom wrist watch style cases. These are 16 or 18 size movements resulting in a ridiculously large 48mm to 56mm watches. Many require you to remove the bezel ring to get to the time setting lever. We decided that we wanted a modest sized 36mm watch (about the size of the traditional Rolex Datejust) that can be wound and set like a traditional wrist watch and be water resistant. The perfect movements for this task turned out to be the work horse size 0 movements made by Elgin from the turn of the 20.Century (this is a higher grade 15 jewel version). The result is a 36 mm in diameter (excluding the winding crown), 42.4mm tall (from lug tip) and 10.5mm thick watch which we think is perfectly sized. With it's oversized canteen style crown it is big enough to be impressive on the wrist, but small enough not to make you look like a kid wearing dad's watch. To build these beautiful watch cases we use the lost wax casting method.
This case, crown, and buckle were cast out of silicon bronze. The wax mold was designed to fit the pocket watch movement and work with the pocket watch style stem and winding crown arrangement. A couple of casting pits were left in the case and we intend that the owner will not polish the watch to a high shine, but rather allow it to patina with use and acquire an evolving lived in vintage "survivor" look which is so popular now, though it could obviously be polished if you like. See our other listings for a Patek Philippe movement we put into a similar case.
It has been worn for about a month and is showing beautiful patina. This watch is starting to patina on the crown side below the crown (those are not pits in the case). A matching bronze buckle was also cast for the band. We used a scratch resistant sapphire crystal.We also cut the full movement sized observation window in the case back and install a sapphire crystal there also. We source a vintage movement that has had it's case previously scrapped for it's precious metals which has never been the victim of a less than qualified watchmaker and disassemble it completely. E do not cannibalize complete pocket watches to build these watches. Any worn parts are replaced, all steel components are hand polished, gold jewel settings are polished, and the screws and the regulator are polished and custom heat blued to give the movement a little extra color contrast.
It is cleaned and reassembled with all synthetic oils leaving the movement more beautiful and working better than when new. I challenge you to find a new watch with an enamel dial that sells for less than several thousand dollars.
The pictures have been taken from every angle and represent the watch well, in fact they are 3x magnified. The movement has been thoroughly serviced on 06/12/2021. Shown here on a 6.75 inch wrist. The band is a brand new Dassari brand 20mm quality tan leather strap.
We would be happy to swap it for a dark chocolate strap free of charge upon request. The original enamel glass fired dial shows minor chips and hairlines which add to the "survivor" look of the watch. It has never been refinished, painted or molested. This is a beautiful example of this model. We are a NAWCC member and offer a 30 day return privilege.
We do not guarantee water resistance on ANY vintage watch we sell. The item "Elgin Size 0 Pocket Watch Movement Custom Hand Made Bronze 36mm Wrist Case 1902" is in sale since Thursday, April 29, 2021. This item is in the category "Jewelry & Watches\Watches, Parts & Accessories\Watches\Wristwatches".The seller is "finetimepieces" and is located in Palm Desert, California. This item can be shipped to United States.