Illinois Watch Company

The Illinois Watch Company was founded on December 23, 1870, in Springfield, Illinois by J.C. Adams, John W. Bunn and various financiers. Twenty years later, Jacob Bunn, Jr. took over and ran the company until his death in 1926. The family name was used in their most famous railroad watch, the Illinois "Bunn Special".

The passing of Bunn, Jr. threw Illinois Watch into disarray. In 1928, the company was purchased by the Hamilton Watch Company of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, which continued to operate the factory under the Illinois name and shifted the emphasis from pocket to wrist watch production. By 1932, the Great Depression forced Hamilton to close the Illinois factory, though they retained possession of the brand name.

Wristwatches

Illinois Watch Company had four basic "periods" of wrist watch production. The first period was from the 1910s to the early 1920s, during which most wrist watches were converted pocketwatch movements. Gent's military and military-style specimens were made, often featuring porcelain dials.

The second period -- from the early to mid 1920s -- included movements and dials which were sold to be cased by individual jewelers. These were mostly small 6/0-size movements with 6:00 or 9:00 subsidiary seconds. Some were also cased at the factory using generic cases from a variety of sources. Some of the better-known models from that latter category include the Square, Canby, Square Cut Corner, Cushion, and Whippet. Also, larger 3/0-size movements were cased at the factory in this way -- the Champion, Special, Ace/Maxine, and Atlantic, for example.

In the late 1920s, shortly before the Hamilton Watch Company took over, Illinois began commissioning its own unique wrist watch cases. The company cased and boxed its watches at the factory, marking the beginning of what many collectors consider the company's golden era, during which the finest watches were made. Models include the Picadilly, Marquis, Chieftain, Ritz, New Yorker and Manhattan (the New Yorker came with a leather strap, the Manhattan with a metal one), the Beau series (Beau Monde, Beau Geste, Beau Brummel, and Beau Royale), the Mate, and the top of the line 14-karat solid gold Consul. Many collectors consider The Consul to be the finest American wrist watch ever made -- examples with original silver pinstripe dials, starburst dials, and with a small second hand are especially desired. Some of these art deco models also came in 2-tone gold (white gold sections along with yellow or green gold) which are also very desired and rare.

The fourth period began in the early 1930s, and is characterized by the Streamline Moderne influence on the styling of the cases. Many of these watches featured a new 207 movement, 12/0-size with 17 jewels (of which only 40,000 were made) and included such sleek designs as the Futura, Chesterfield, Wentworth, Andover, and the 14kt Rockliffe. Many of these are very similar to watches made at the time by the Hamilton Watch Company.

Some Illinois 12/0-size 207 movements were finished with the Hamilton name and used in the 401 series of Hamilton wrist watches, which premiered in 1934 and were named after famous explorers including Stanley, Livingstone, Byrd, and others. Many Illinois collectors also collect these pieces since they contain movements derived from Illinois-made movements. Some think that the Hamilton Watch Company purchased the Illinois Watch Company merely to expedite the production of a rectangular-shaped movement, but this is uncertain.

In the 1950s, Hamilton offered a line of Illinois and Hamilton-Illinois wrist watches with Swiss movements. These have absolutely nothing in common with the "originals" except the name. They are not considered collectible by die-hard illinois collectors. Caution should be exercised when buying Hamilton-Illinois off auction sites as many sellers mis-represent these 1950's models as examples of '30s Illinois produced by Hamilton.

References

*"Complete Watch Guide", by Cooksey Shugart, Tom Engle, Richard E. Gilbert, Edition 1998, ISBN 1-57432-064-5
*"The Illinois Watch: The Life and Times of a Great American Watch Company", Fred Friedberg

External links

* [http://www.pocketwatchrepair.com/histories/illinois.html A Brief History of the Illinois Watch Company]
* [http://www.antique-pocket-watch.com/illinois-pocket-watch.html Illinois Watch Company]