1919 Illinois Sangamo Spec 16s 23j Watch

Updated September 15, 2026

Vintage 1919 Illinois Watch Co. Sangamo Special model 10 mechanical open-face pocket watch featuring a substantial 16-size base metal open-face case. The interior caseback displays a highly polished finish stamped with the signature "FAHYS ORESILVER No. 1" factory circular trademark logo, a February 19, 1884 patent date, and production case serial number 6713308. The outer caseback showcases a polished satin finish with an outer coin-edge style textured border trim pattern along the bezel rims. The white porcelain enamel railroad dial features a double-sunk layout, an outer minute ring track with distinct triangular markers, bold block black Arabic numeral hour tracks, clean blued steel hands, an independent sub-seconds register above the 6 o'clock position, and block signature text reading "ILLINOIS". The watch houses an exceptionally rare, elite American-made mechanical manual-wind movement carrying movement serial number 3524650, a top-tier 23 ruby and sapphire jewels configuration in raised screw-set gold settings, a specialized 48-Hour Motor Barrel design, a gold gear train, a false center bridge finish plate layout adorned with a bright nickel pattern, a lever-setting design, a micrometric regulator assembly, a Breguet hairspring, a Double Roller assembly, and explicit plate engraving reading "SANGAMO SPECIAL 23 JEWELS MOTOR BARREL" and "ADJUSTED TEMP. AND SIX POSITIONS".This watch is in excellent mechanical condition, testing on a digital timegrapher with a steady pace of -3 seconds per day (-3s/d), a strong 282 degrees of amplitude, and a clean 0.7ms beat error at the time of listing. Extended runtime without service is not guaranteed, though a professional service is recommended for ongoing precision timing calibration.

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