VERY RARE AUTHENTIC VINTAGE ELGIN M-135 BAKELITE BEZEL DIVER GENTS WATCH (SOLD)

VINTAGE SWISS MADE ELGIN MEN'S DIVERS WRISTWATCH CIRCA 1960'S

VERY CLEAN & SHINNING SILVER TONE DIAL

CRYSTAL IS CLEAN, NO CRACK NO SCRATCHES

THE PUW CAL. 1463 21600 bps, 25 JEWELS AUTOMATIC WINDING MOVEMENT

LUMINESCENT SILVER TONE BIG ARROW METAL HANDS WITH LUMINESCENT ORANGE ARROW CENTER SWIPE SECOND HAND

LUMINESCENT ARROW AND ARABIC MARKER

STAINLESS STEEL ROUND CASE MEASURES APPROXIMATELY 40mm INCLUDING THE CROWN AND 39mm LUG TO LUG

VERY RARE BI-DIRECTIONAL ROTATING BAKELITE BLACK BEZEL

UNSIGNED CROWN

NEW BLACK TEXTILE BAND FITS 8.5" WRIST

DISCONTINUED MODEL... !

WORKING CONDITION & KEEPING TIME

PRICE : PERSONAL COLLECTION NOT FOR SALE (SOLD TO WEN FEY FROM SINGAPORE)

Brief Information on PUW Movement

PUW stands for Pforzheimer Uhrenwerke (Pforzheim Movements). Pforzheim is one of the cities in Germany, where watchmaking has a strong and long tradition. PUW made a lot of mechanical and quartz movements in the 70ies and 80ies and was very popular. Today PUW is owned by Swatch Group.

BRIEF HISTORY OF ELGIN WATCHES

The Elgin Watch Company (also known as the Elgin National Watch Company) was the largest US watch company in terms of production. In fact, Elgin produced approximately one-half of the total number of higher-quality pocket watches manufactured in the United States. Total production over their 100 years of operation reached 60 million watches!

The clock tower at the Elgin National

Watch Company

The company was founded in 1864 in Elgin, Illinois as the National Watch Company, and some of the organizers were J. C. Adams, P. S. Bartlett, D. G. Currier, Otis Hoyt, and Charles H. Mason, with financial backing from former Chicago Mayor Benjamin W. Raymond. The factory for the National watch company was completed in 1866, and the first movement produced was an 18-size B. W. Raymond which sold in April of 1867 for the astounding price of $115. This identical watch, serial number 101, was sold at auction in New York in 1988 for $12,000. In 1874, the company officially changed their name to the Elgin National Watch Company, and that name remained until they stopped producing watches in the early '60's.

Elgin was not known for making the highest quality watches, though some of their higher grades were exquisitely made timepieces. Together with Waltham Watch Company, they dominated the huge market for mid-grade watches. Elgin watches remain extremely popular with collectors today because they are plentiful, can be obtained at reasonable prices, and can be relatively easily repaired due to the large number of watches and parts available.

Elgin shipped their first wristwatch in 1910, and later manufactured the first wrist watch to be qualified for railroad service, the grade 730A B. W. Raymond. Throughout their history, the Elgin National Watch Company was known for horological innovations. In 1958, they introduced the "DuraBalance," an ingenious design for a free-sprung balance (no regulator pins) which used spiral balance arms and small weights to govern the moment of inertia of the balance. They also produced the only American-made automatic wristwatch movements: grades 607, 618, 760, and 761. These movements featured bi-directional, full-rotor winding, and had two automatic winding gear ratios, which were automatically engaged as the mainspring tension increased.

The contributions of the Elgin National Watch Company to American Horological industry cannot be overstated. Many Elgin watches that were made over 100 years ago are still providing reliable and accurate daily service to their proud owners.