Any information on this watch?

January 31, 2024 4:42 PM

I found this little watch...

Does anyone have any information on this little watch (front, back) I found in an "old stuff" box in my basement? It's about one inch in diameter.

I know Elgin made some like this, they were used as time stamps in fighter plane gun cameras.

But I can't seem to find any information about "Franklin Inst Co" or what the value might be.

It keeps good time.

posted by Marky to Technology (7 answers total)

Best answer: The Franklin Instrument Company seems to still exist! I bet you someone there would have your answer.
posted by praemunire at 5:16 PM on January 31 [1 favorite]

Here's another possible source of information.
posted by sardonyx at 5:17 PM on January 31 [1 favorite]

Best answer: If P N stands for Part Number like I think it does, then a Franklin CC207 is a panel clock used in C-5 Galaxy or C-17A Airlifter aircraft.
posted by fedward at 5:35 PM on January 31 [3 favorites]

Best answer: I love these as I'm a bit fascinated by 24 hour time pieces that display all 24 hours.

As you surmise it was likely built by Elgin and I agree with fedward that it's military gear. These clocks served a couple of purposes, during WWII these sorts of clocks would be utilized for guiding and manual timing bombs. During Vietnam many were used for arial surveillance for the camera to record the time the photo was captured. This listing has more information. These are not particularly rare items, for example here's one with a white face and another that's similar to yours.

These vary greatly in price depending on many factors - but as a starting point this random on one listed on eBay is looking for just over 200$, while another is aiming for closer to 1300.

If it was mine I would move quickly to get it properly valued and then sell it quickly. The watch market generally has been in steady decline with average prices slipping 3-5% every month.
posted by zenon at 10:02 PM on January 31 [2 favorites]

Best answer: The first Elgin you found in the "while another" has a Durabalance movement, which is definitely US-made. The other two don't show the movement but these were probably also made by the US company Elgin before it closed up in 1968.

The watch in this question is marked SWISS so it's going to be completely different, unrelated to Elgin, although apparently made to the same military spec. This was common - many companies manufactured for those contracts. The US company Franklin Instrument imported at least the movements to make these.

A picture of the movement would help nail down the manufacturer.
posted by fritley at 7:15 AM on February 1 [2 favorites]

Best answer: fedwards list has six suppliers- including two listed as Franklin. fritly is right that the movement would be key for sorting this out in terms of value. It’s also common for people to create their own clocks and watches out of these- which get called franken timepieces. That seems a bit unfair considering that the manufacturer might have originally assembled it out of a case from Elgin, a movement from the Swiss and just a dial labeled with their own name.
posted by zenon at 11:32 AM on February 1 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: I agree that seeing the movement would help, but I don't see a way to remove the back. The front bezel unscrews, but the stem keeps the movement from coming out. I don't want to try to force the back.

I took me a minute, but I realized it can't have been from WWII or Korea. The "18974" is the zip code of "Ivyland PA" both on the back.

I'm going to find a watch/clock repair person to try to ID the movement, then we're off to Ebay.

Thanks everyone!
posted by Marky at 12:58 PM on February 1 [1 favorite]