Elgins/c. w. c. co. ladies watch

QuestionEdit

Dear sir. Great site and really experts opinions. I have enjoyed reading many of the postings. I inherited a watch from my mother that unfortunately, I waited too long to ask her about. It is gold colored (not sure if gold) about 1 1/2" across. It has the emblem of a house on one side and the initials A. M. R. on the reverse. On the inside of the case it is marked. C. W. C. Co.and what looks like a star and Trade Mark or Trace Mark?? The serial number is 604659. There is K18 inside a rectangle and Swiss under that. That is all I have been able to see under present magnification and lighting. The crystal and its ring was off and in a little plastic bag along with the watch. I have not tried to put them back on. BTW, the crystal is plastic! Maybe a replacement? Any info would be great. It is really a pretty watch and in excellent condition. Best regards, Ed

AnswerEdit

Ed,

wow, that is a great family heirloom. Congratulations.

By the looks of the picture, the watch may possibly be gold filled, but not gold. It looks like the gold has worn through to the base metal on the cover.

This case is called a hunter's case. Hunters used to have a cover over the glass so as not to break it.

C.W.C.Co stands for Crescent Watch Case Company.

The crystal and the ring either screw on or the pop on. If you don't see anything threads for the screw on case, then it will just pop on, like a tupperware lid.

Elgin watches were made for 100 years in Elgin Illinois. You can get a full history at elginwatches.org.