re: #38 William Lewis

Cool! I knew some of that. What is meant by “gold filled”? Cheaper case, I’m presuming, than a fully gold case as even at 14k that’s kind of spendy.

Gold filled means two sheets of gold sandwiching ‘base metal’, usually brass. They came in various thicknesses of gold, with 25 year being about the thickest. At that time, watch companies like Elgin, Hamilton, Waltham etc. sold movements only, and other companies sold cases. Jewelers selling watches to consumers would pair the movement with the case according to the customers wishes.

So, you might find a solid gold case with a 7j movement, because the buyer cared more about the case. And railroaders had to have high-grade movements (like the 21j Hamilton I showed), but might put it in a nickel case.