ELGIN watch

[Squale69]

Hello,

May I have your opinion on this watch ?

Elgin 539 movement / 24h dial

ORD. DEPT U.S.A on the back

Thank you.

[MAP]

Looks like a Korean era A-17 or A-17a. The main difference being the movements. Sometimes though, the faces of the A-17 (24 hour dial) were added to the earlier WW2 A-11 watches (like my A-11). I don't think it is an A-17a as I think it had a different movement (Elgin 685). I've seen Elgin 539 movements in WW2 A-11 watches (although this movement was made from 1941 to 1951). I do think that the A-17 used the Elgin 647 movement but not sure if it also used 539 movements.

The odd think about yours is the back plate. I've never seen one like this. They typically are filled with writing including the model number and serial number

A-11 Watch Tutorial (long-winded) | Vintage Leather Jackets Forum

USA Military Elgin A-17 MIL-W-6433 Korean War-era / Cal F4667 Vitage 1
– Exclusive Vintage Swiss Watches

1950s Elgin Type A17A U.S Military Navigator

Will probably take some time searching watch websites on Google to piece together what this watch is. Very possible the back plate is fine, or maybe an ordinance dept replacement. I've just never seen them like this. Also research the movement, as this could indicate when the watch was made (WW2, Korean, later)

Here is a link to my Waltham A-11

Waltham A-11 Watch

To quote the website (linked below) about WW2 A-11 watches : "Many that appear on the secondary market today are also “frankenwatches,” as parts from A-11s, Ordnance watches and others were interchanged as necessary both by military maintenance personnel and personal watchmakers over the years..

My gut says, yours is an A-11 that was refinished post war but I'm not an expert and you will need to search more

Military Watches of the World: A-11, the Watch That Won the War - Worn & Wound

BTW....Great looking watch. Frankenstein or not.

[MAP]

Here is a nice video.

It explains that the case back that say's ordinance department is from the WW2 era and the ones that say ordinance corp are post war. I still think these are most likely an ordinance replacement and not how they left the watch factor but happy to be corrected

It also shows at the 4:00 mark the same 539 movement in your watch. You will see that the case back is the standard A-11 type.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8KRtSn8v9w

As noted earlier, my uneducated opinion is that it is a WW2 A-11 that has seen some post war Ordinance maintenance and upgrading to the A-17 watch face. It is however possible that this has been repaired and modified more recently.

Still at the right price a cool watch.

Another link or two

Elgin National Watch Co. Grade 647 Information | Pocket Watch Database

Elgin National Watch Co. Grade 539 Information | Pocket Watch Database

[Squale69]

@MAP Thanks for this feed-back with lots of information !

Found the 539 ser.#s :

T-23386 1943 BLACK DIAL 16J NICKEL MOVEMENT
T-29916 1943 BLACK DIAL 16J GOLD GILT MOVEMENT

Mine is T-28661 / 1943 production

If someone else has any idea ? ;-)

[MAP]

@MAP Thanks for this feed-back with lots of information !

Found the 539 ser.#s :

T-23386 1943 BLACK DIAL 16J NICKEL MOVEMENT
T-29916 1943 BLACK DIAL 16J GOLD GILT MOVEMENT

Mine is T-28661 / 1943 production

If someone else has any idea ? ;-)

So then (at best) a period A-11 US Army Ordinance refinished example with replaced back cover and Korean war era dial. Or a later period non official Frankenstein. Personally, from what I see, it looks like an Ordinance refinished example to me.

Nice watch.