1913 Elgin Trench / WW1 watch. Original Armor Guard, Stunning Survivor.

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• Details
  1913 1913 1913 1913 1913 1913 1913 3/0 Movement 15 Jewel. What a survivor and treasure
  
  Think back to 1913, over 109 years ago is when this watch was born. For those of you that follow me, I rarely get excited about one of my listings. This offering is sublime, it is the quintessential WW1 / Trench Watch. Let me list the reasons why?
  
  
  
  1) Special original clip-on armor guard in pristine condition, these are very hard to source!
  
  
  2) Stunning Elgin Bold Military dial that helps pull everything together
  
  
  3) The crown jewel is the case condition. Whomever owned this took care of the case. Many of these through the years have been destroyed by the previous owns. They tried to “Pry” off the case back with reckless abandon! So many were lost to carelessness.
  
  
  4) Heavy Duty lugs, another great invention for the fit and feel of early wrist watches. They were better fitting
  
  
  5) The watch was serviced, new band, new crystal, stem and sleeve adjustment,
  
  
  
  The Philadelphia Watch Case company (very well known for making early Trench watch cases that have become highly collectible, such as this one) was one of a number of case manufactures who designed a “Early Wristwatch” case to be sealed from the elements). The way they did that was to have the bezel and case back screw on and off with threads, this reduced the dust and other elements from entering into the case. It was a more expensive case to manufacture.
  
  
  
  This case has been brought back; I have gently polished the case to a high gloss finish. I used a paste called “Happich Simichrome” it does a beautiful, job, especially by hand.
  
  
  
  The case lugs heavy and well-constructed. They are 1MM in width.
  
  
  
  The case measures 31.40MM Wide, 36MM with the crown.
  
  
  Think "0" size and an upgraded movement with a 15 jewel. A very special combination
  
  
  
  The bold military numbers “pop” off the bright white high gloss dial. What a treat to see in person! Under 10 power magnification, I cannot find any chips or hairlines in this dial, quite remarkable considering its age. The watch set and winds without any issue.
  
  
  
  What are early wire lug wrist watches?
  
  
  
  They were created using 3/0 and 0 size pocket watch movements and installing into watch cases that were meant to worn on the wrist.
  
  
  
  They often have some of the following characteristics:
  
  
  
  Fixed or Wire Lug: No traditional spring bar attachment as found in today’s watches.
  
  
  
  Case Material: It or often Solid Gold / Sterling Silver (925) / Silverode or Gold Filled.. The case lid snaps snug on the case. The Case back opens at a 90 degree angle. This is important to note as many cases were badly damaged by their owners by pulling back the case back lid too far and damaging the hinge assembly. This watch case has been taken care of throughout its 100 years, it is in remarkable shape.
  
  
  
  *For more practical purposes, a special alloy was developed which went by several different names, such as, "Silveroid, Silverore, Silverode or Silverine. "Silveroid" appears to have become the standard name for this metal that consisted of 45% nickel, 54% copper and 1% manganese. This metal was fairly hard wearing and could withstand the rigors of everyday use, for instance on the Railroads. This case is all silverode, it wears better as it is harder. This case has survived the day to day wearing with perspiration that often can be an acid with nickel and make it pit badly through the years. This case is stunning.
  
  
  
  Case Manufactures: There were many case manufacturers that made cases for Trench Watches. Some of the more well know were: Keystone, Depollier and Sons, Dennison (English Manufacturer) Illinois (not affiliated with the Illinois Watch Company) Depollier and Sons, Wadsworth, Fahys, Philadelphia, Fortune, Boss and many more
  
  
  
  The watch has a brand new crystal installed and a new 14MM open ended black “Oily Leather” band with a high polished stainless steel tang buckle.
  
  
  
  The case measures approximately 32.5MM across without the crown. Look at picture 4, it shows a coin edge bezel, this makes it easier to screw off, this is a sign of a threaded case, unfortunately many cases through the years have been destroyed by people not familiar with the design and they damage the case beyond repair.
  
  I took great care to restore this watch to reflect a by gone time. It took me almost 3 months to restore this watch from the ground up. I wanted to insure as much originality as possible.
  
  A note about my restoration efforts. I work very hard at sourcing original parts, from the correct time period to keep the entire project authentic. Many vintage dealers don’t take the time and care to source the correct parts. I do, it can sometimes take me up to a year to source the correct parts. I am that meticulous. Please keep in mind that the watches are still 80 – 100 years old, but I do my best to make them look beautiful.
  
  
  
  Grade: 354
  
  
  Manufacturer: Elgin
  
  
  Manufacturer Location: Elgin, Illinois
  
  
  Movement Serial Number: 17186337
  
  
  Grade: 354
  
  
  Model: 2
  
  
  Class: 116
  
  
  Estimated Production Year: 1913
  
  
  Run Quantity: 2,000
  
  
  Grade/Model Run: 97 of 131
  
  
  Total Production: 274,000
  
  
  Size: 0s
  
  
  Jewels: 15 Jewel
  
  
  Jewel Setting: Screw-Set
  
  
  Movement Configuration: Hunting
  
  
  Movement Finish: Nickel
  
  
  Movement Setting: Pendant
  
  
  Please use the pictures as part of your description. Please ask questions as I will do my best to answer them. I will package this like a china doll to insure safe arrival. I ship on Wednesdays, please keep that in mind if you purchase this.
  
  
  Use some of the attached pictures as part of the description. The price on this is going to a bit high due to the rarity of the watch. I am firm on the price. I have read that this dial was only made for several months. I am listing it for 21 days, it is does not sell within 21 days, I will keep it in my personal collection.
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