
Elgin age determination by serial number
Share
The website elgintime.com publishes a list up to 1949:
Year | Serial Number | |
1867 | 9000 | |
1868 | 25001 | |
1869 | 40001 | |
1870 | 50001 | |
1871 | 185001 | |
1872 | 201001 | |
1873 | 325000 | |
1874 | 400001 | |
1875 | 430000 | |
1876 | 480000 | |
1877 | 520000 | |
1878 | 570000 | |
1879 | 625001 | |
1880 | 750000 | |
1881 | 900000 | |
1882 | 1000000 | |
1883 | 1250000 | |
1884 | 1500000 | |
1885 | 1855001 | |
1886 | 2000000 | |
1887 | 2500000 | |
1888 | 3000000 | |
1889 | 3500000 | |
1890 | 4000000 | |
1891 | 4449001 | |
1892 | 4600000 | |
1893 | 5000000 | |
1894 | 5500000 | |
1895 | 6000000 | |
1896 | 6500000 | |
1897 | 7000000 | |
1898 | 7494000 | |
1899 | 8000000 | |
1900 | 9000000 | |
1901 | 9300000 | |
1902 | 9600000 | |
1903 | 10000000 | |
1904 | 11000000 | |
1905 | 12000000 | |
1906 | 12500000 | |
1907 | 13000000 | |
1908 | 13500000 | |
1909 | 14000000 | |
1910 | 15000000 | |
1911 | 16000000 | |
1912 | 17000000 | |
1913 | 17339001 | |
1914 | 18000000 | |
1915 | 18587001 | |
1916 | 19000000 | |
1917 | 20031001 | |
1918 | 21000000 | |
1919 | 22000000 | |
1920 | 23000000 | |
1921 | 24321001 | |
1922 | 25100000 | |
1923 | 26050000 | |
1924 | 27000000 | |
1925 | 28421001 | |
1926 | 29100000 | |
1927 | 30050000 | |
1928 | 31599001 | |
1929 | 32000000 | |
1930 | 32599001 | |
1931 | 33000000 | |
1932 | 33700000 | |
1933 | 34558001 | |
1934 | 35000000 | |
1935 | 35650000 | |
1936 | 36200000 | |
1937 | 36978001 | |
1938 | 37900000 | |
1939 | 38200000 | |
1940 | 39100000 | |
1941 | 40200000 | |
1942 | 41100000 | |
1943 | 42200000 | |
1944 | 42600000 | |
1945 | 43200000 | |
1946 | 44000000 | |
1947 | 45000000 | |
1948 | 46000000 | |
1949 | 47000000 |
|
waterstonewatches.com dates from 1900 - 1956
1900s | 1910s | 1920s | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
1930s | 1940s | 1950s | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
waterstonewatches.com explains:
When identifying a particular Elgin model, the case is crucial – not the movement, but the case design.
The key to model identification lies in attention to detail. All watches of a particular model had the same case style (although the material may vary, e.g., yellow gold vs. coral gold).
Pay particular attention to details like the shape of the lugs or the lines (or lack thereof) on the case. To a lesser extent, dial features like the placement of the second hand and the shape of the small seconds dial (if present) are also very useful clues.
Model numbers were usually stamped into the caseback, as you can see in the image on the left. Model names were not stamped on the watches, and we only find them through other collectors or by visually comparing watches with advertisements and (rare) catalog materials.
Source: elgintime.com, waterstonewatches.com