Illinois Bunn Special Railroad Watch, 1923

Dealer description — WatchMuseum.org shop

The Illinois Bunn Special Railroad Watch, crafted in 1923, stands as a testament to the rich heritage and meticulous craftsmanship of the Illinois Watch Co., a company that evolved through several iterations since its inception in 1869. Known for producing a relatively modest number of watches—around 5 million between 1872 and 1927—the Illinois Watch Co. carved out a niche for itself in the horological world, particularly with its Bunn Special model, often hailed as the King of Railroad watches. Collectors are drawn to Illinois watches not only for their historical significance but also for the complexity and variety of their models, which often feature the distinctive “Springfield Illinois” marking on the bottom plate. The Bunn Special was designed to meet the stringent standards required for American Railroad Watches, including a minimum of 17 jewels, double rollers, Arabic numerals with minute markers, and adjustments for at least five positions. These watches were also engineered to maintain accuracy within six seconds per month across a temperature range of -5°C to +30°C. The intricate damaskeening patterns on the plates and wheels further enhance their appeal, making the Illinois Bunn Special Railroad Watch a prized possession for collectors and horology enthusiasts alike. The Illinois Watch Co., started life in 1869 as the Illinois Springfield Watch Co which soon became the Springfield Illinois Watch Co in 1879 and subsequently the Illinois Watch Co in 1885. The company was sold to the Hamilton Watch Co in 1927. Despite the fact that Illinois only produced about 5 million watches between 1872 and 1927 (a very small number when compared to Elgin and Waltham), the Bunn Special is considered by many to be the King of the Railroad watches. Collecting Illinois watches is extremely complicated because they used a seemingly endless variety of models, with obscure initials to identify them and understanding this requires a great deal of study, especially as some are considerably more valuable than others. One important identifying feature is that almost all Illinois watches have “Springfield Illinois” on the bottom plate. American Railroad Watches had to conform to very exacting specifications; originally 17 jewels minimum. Double roller. Arabic numerals with minutes marked. Adjusted to at least 5 positions. Accurate from -5c to +30c and to 6 seconds a month. They had to have screw on back and front both for the cleanliness of the movement and to prevent the time being changed too easily. Many Railroad (and other American) watches have intricate patterns and designs on the plates and the wheels. This is called Damaskeening and was brought to America by Swiss emigres who came to work in the booming American Pocket watch industry in the last three decades of the 19th century. Rival companies like Waltham, Hamilton and Elgin etc all competed to get the various different Railroad contracts to supply watches and as a result each watch company kept on making their watches to higher and higher specifications. From the early 1880s until the mid 1920s, American Railroad Watches were arguably the best and highest quality, mass produced watches in the world. This is an outstanding watch in all ways in fantastic condition. ILLINOIS BUNN SPECIAL RAILROAD POCKET WATCH. 1923.. OVERALL CONDITION: The watch is working well and in generally good condition. SIZE OVERALL: 51.1mm (excluding bow and crown) SIZE MOVEMENT: 42.4mm. US size 16 MANUFACTURED IN: Springfield, Illinois, USA YEAR OF MANUFACTURE: 1923 JEWELS: 21 MOVEMENT TYPE: Three quarter plate. Model 15. This watch has a 60 hour barrel but the spring in a standard one. Gold jewel cups and centre wheel. MOVEMENT CONDITION: Excellent. Stripped and ultra sound cleaned within the last 12 months. MOVEMENT ACCURACY: +/- 5 minutes in 24 hours RUN TIME: 24 – 36 hours approx. on one full wind. ESCAPEMENT: Lever DIAL: Arabic numerals. Good condition with Illinois trade mark. Feint hairline below 8. CRYSTAL: Replacement Mineral glass bevel edge low dome crystal. WIND: Crown wind SET: Lever set (under dial bezel) CASE: 10K Gold filled case by the Hamilton Watch case Co.. Screw on/off back and front. Illinois Railroad Watch Case Model 181 CONDITION: Good for its age. KNOWN DEFECTS: No obvious faults.