Posted 5 years ago
rotondo79
(1 item)
Antique Buchanan Gold lever set sidewinder Pocket Watch. Condition is excellent, keeping time, running perfectly! Watch has a very interesting history. It’s a Buchanan store brand Illinois manufactured watch from 1896, about 10 years after Buchanan moved from Glasgow, Scotland to Richmond, Virginia.
The jewelry store still operates today in Virginia Beach:
http://www.hardysjewellers.com/about/
https://pocketwatchdatabase.com/search/result/illinois/1314939
Only 260 of these were made by Illinois and this may be the only one of its kind sold under the Buchanan name.
So my question is, since I am now to pocket watches, is this a rare watch? I have never heard of Buchanan before researching it this week, does that help the value of the watch? Is their a market for it ?
Your watch is known as a "Private Label" watch. Jewelers, Retailers, Companies would sometimes have their names applied to the dials and movements. These "private label" watches are not rare.
Your Illinois watch is a Grade 177 and they made a Model 4 which is a Hunting Movement, the movement is made to be put in a Hunting Case (which has a cover over the dial that has to be opened to observe the time.) They also made a Model 5 which is in a Open Face case (no cover over the dial).
Your watch is a Hunting movement that has been re-cased in a Open case.
The case is a gold-filled case, not solid gold.
According to one of my Illinois Watch Identification books there were 480, Grade 177 movements made. 260 Model 4 Hunting Movements & 220 Model 5 Open Face movements.
Below is the serial number ranges of each Model (hope it stays lined up when I post)
Serial Number Range Model Movement Configuration
1,300,981 - 1,301,000 5 Open Face
1,301,801 - 1,301,900 4 Hunting
1,302,101 - 1,302,200 5 Open Face
1,314,901 - 1,314,950 4 Hunting
1,316,601 - 1,316,650 5 Open Face
1,318,601 - 1,318,650 4 Hunting
1,329,001 - 1,329,050 5 Open Face
1,330,001 - 1,330,010 4 Hunting
1,330,051 - 1,330,100 4 Hunting