Elgin 298

Description

The 0s (about 29mm in diameter) sized movement Elgin 298 (or Elgin Grade 298), a hunter-style (“Savonette”) pocket watch movement from the USA, was produced in large quantities between 1905 and 1917.

With only seven jewels (effectively only two pairs for the balance wheel bearing, one for the ellipsis of the balance and two for the lever pallets), it is of fair, but not extraordinary quality.

What makes it special is its winding and hand-setting mechanism.

The winding mechanism already used a locking cone with a spring underneath, something that was later found in most wristwatch movements, but was still quite new at the time and was therefore patented by Elgin under the US patent number 596407 .

The setting lever mechanism is partially located on the base plate.

The gear train itself is standard at the time and consists of a mainspring barrel, center minute wheel, third wheel, seconds wheel at 6 o’clock (90° to the winding mechanism, i.e. hunter-style), and escapement wheel.

The regulating organ is a two-leg Glucydur screw balance, of course not yet shock-protected, which beats with 18,000 A/h and regulates a classic pallet lever movement.

For the adjustment of the beating rate, a long regulator arm is used, which limits the effective length of the Breguet hairspring.

On the dial side, you can see the crown winding mechanism, which is so special that it has been patented , but on the other hand, its enormous complexity presents every watchmaker with great challenges.

At position 2:30 o’clock, you can see a lever that can be used to lock the switching position even when the crown is not installed. Without this trick, it would be impossible to wind the movement when it is not installed.

At position 5:30 o’clock, you can clearly see the slots that allow you to adjust the pins eccentrically mounted on the movement side to limit the lever engagement, a detail often found in American movements.

Technical data

Usage gallery

Patents

• US585025
• US596407