Photo Credit: Continental-Coin-and-Jewelry
14K Gold Retro Lord Elgin Wristwatch with 559 Movement
Buy It Now Price: $719.99 (price as of 2018; item no longer available)
Pros:
-Here is a marvelous example of a retro Lord Elgin wristwatch featuring a solid 14 karat gold case and a 21-jewel, adjusted 559 movement.
-This retro Lord Elgin wristwatch measures 26 mm (1.02 inches) wide (including the crown) and 31 mm (1.22 inches) long (including the lugs). Many older wristwatches are smaller than modern watches, so first time buyers should take note.
-The Elgin National Watch Company only branded their best men’s watches with the Lord Elgin nameplate. Similarly high quality women’s wristwatches were sold under the Lady Elgin name.
-The Elgin grade 559 was a high quality, manual-wind movement that was produced from 1941 to 1947. It was adjusted in 4 different positions to reduce timing errors. According to the Pocket Watch Database website, this particular Elgin 559 movement was probably made in 1947.
-The Mid-Century styling of this retro Lord Elgin wristwatch, with its sleek tonneau (barrel-shaped) case, curved crystal and champagne-colored enamel dial, is truly exceptional. This late 1940s wristwatch has phenomenal zeitgeist, an important factor when choosing to invest in a high value antique.
-Vintage mechanical wristwatches from the major American manufacturers of the 20th century – Elgin, Waltham, Hamilton, Gruen and Bulova – are significantly undervalued in the market due to today’s irrational obsession with European watch companies. I feel that this mispricing will eventually be corrected – most likely via increased prices for vintage American watches.
-Shockingly, this retro Lord Elgin wristwatch comes with its original red plastic case and accompanying documentation! It is always a pleasure to be able to find a vintage item from the 1940s with its original case. This modestly increases the desirability and investment potential of the watch.
-The seller, Continental Coin and Jewelry, is giving the buyer of this choice retro Lord Elgin wristwatch a one year warranty. In light of this fact, and the wonderful quality of this timepiece, I think the $720 asking price is fair.
Cons:
-This retro Lord Elgin wristwatch could be cheaper. It is possible to purchase other vintage Lord Elgin watches with solid karat gold cases in the $400 to $600 range. However, almost all of these lower-priced watches will need to be serviced at a minimum, if not fully restored. This will generally drive the total price up by somewhere between $100 and $300. Fully serviced Lord Elgin wristwatches in good condition – like this example – realistically start at around $600.
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