Back to the main page Back to category Modern

watch details

23-Jewel 60-Hour Illinois Bunn Special Marked Dial & Bunn Case Railroad Watch

Estimated price for orientation: 2 300 $

Category: Modern
Class:











Description
Year of Manufacture: 1920-1929 Movement: Mechanical (Hand-winding)
Brand: Illinois Escapement Type: Lever
MPN: Does Not Apply Display: Analog
Material: Green Gold Filled Serial Number: 4,718,695
Closure: Open Face Model: Bunn Special
Features: 12-Hour Dial, Subsidiary Seconds Dial, Double Sunk Dial, 60-Hour, Adjusted to 6 Positions, Railroad Grade


Wonderful 23-Jewel 60-Hour Bunn Special, Marked Dial & Bunn Case Railroad Pocket Watch by Illinois
Illinois; U.S./Ill.; Man’s; SN#4,718,695; CA1925
CASE: The green gold-filled 16-size (45-49MM) No. 7,082,558 plain open face case is signed “Bunn Special Keystone.”
DIAL: This white porcelain double sunk dial displays Arabic numerals, spade hands, subsidiary seconds dial and is signed “Illinois Bunn Special 23-Jewel 60-Hour.”
MOVT: The 23-jewel lever-set No. 4,718,695 nickel movement has a lever escapement, adjusted to 6 positions, ¾-plate layout and is signed.
C 2-1/2  (Case is in Perfect Condition – almost as new)
D 3-53  (Dial is in Very Good Condition – very slightly chipped not noticeable)
M 2  (Movement is in Perfect Condition)
R 9  (Rarity Grade on a scale of #1 being very common to #10 being extremely rare)
Expert’s Opinion: Model 173 case by Keystone signed “Bunn Special.” 23-Jewel 60-hour superb movement and a near perfect 23-jewel 60-hour signed Bunn Special dial!   AI-AM62016-16
Stem-wind, Lever-Set Movements
Mandatory for all railroad watches after roughly 1908, this kind of pocket watch was set by opening the crystal and bezel and pulling out the setting-lever (most hunter cases have levers accessible without removing the crystal or bezel), which was generally found at either the 10 or 2 o'clock positions on open-faced watches, and at 5:00 on hunting cased watches. Once the lever was pulled out, the crown could be turned to set the time. The lever was then pushed back in and the crystal and bezel were closed over the dial again. This method of time setting on pocket watches was preferred by American and Canadian railroads, as lever setting watches make accidental time changes impossible. After 1908, lever setting was generally required for new watches entering service on American railroads.
Lever Escapement
An escapement is a device in mechanical watches and clocks that transfers energy to the timekeeping element (the "impulse action") and allows the number of its oscillations to be counted (the "locking action"). The impulse action transfers energy to the clock's timekeeping element (usually a pendulum or balance wheel) to replace the energy lost to friction during its cycle and keep the timekeeper oscillating. The escapement is driven by force from a coiled spring or a suspended weight, transmitted through the timepiece's gear train. Each swing of the pendulum or balance wheel releases a tooth of the escapement's escape wheel gear, allowing the clock's gear train to advance or "escape" by a fixed amount. This regular periodic advancement moves the clock's hands forward at a steady rate. At the same time the tooth gives the timekeeping element a push, before another tooth catches on the escapement's pallet, returning the escapement to its "locked" state. The sudden stopping of the escapement's tooth is what generates the characteristic "ticking" sound heard in operating mechanical clocks and watches.
3/4 Plate Layout
The 3/4 plate and the balance cock are flush and about 1/4 of a full plate is cut out to allow for the balance, thus the 3/4 plate.
Adjustment
Watch adjustment is the process of correcting those errors in the watch that cause variation in time keeping. These include temperature influences, variation in driving power and position of the watch with respect to mechanism such as pendant up or dial up.
Watches with better calibre movements will have been adjusted at the factory for a number of positions.  The usual array of positions include a subset of the following positions:
1. Dial up   2. Dial down  3. Bow up  4. Bow down (Not required by Railroad) 5. Bow left  6. Bow right
These positional adjustments are intended to insure that the watch is just as realiable and accurate regardless of the position in which it is stored or used. In addition to positional adjustments, the watch may also be adjusted for Temperature(heat/cold).  Temperature affects different elements in different ways.  Heat will cause some metals to expand faster than others, and cold may cause some metals to contract more than others.  A watch that is adjusted to temperatures will usually include some combination of metals that allow the watch to maintain its proper functionality within a larger range of temperat