Has any one heard of a " Lincoln 15 Rubis" 17 jewel swiss pocket watch?

Question

The watch is gold or gold toned. On the front directly under the "12" it says "Lincoln with a line under it and 15 Rubis" under that. It has no cover. On the back it says "SEVENTEEN17 JEWEL" and "SWISS".

Answer 1

Any other markings on the dial, the case, the inside of the case, or the movement? No mention of "Shock", "Stoss" or "Incabloc"?

Especially markings on the movement would indicate the "calibre" (type of movement) and maybe the maker of the movement.

Normally "rubis" is the same as "jewels", but here we have 17 jewels but only 15 rubis. Weird. You see, most pocket watches watches, even the highest grade railroad watches, made before the mid 1890s had a maximum of 15 jewels. "Over Jeweling" a watch was thought to make the watch less rugged so it was considered, especially by the Swiss, that jeweling the center wheel to bring the watch up from 15 jewels to 17 jewels was not necessary. The calibre should decide the real numbers of jewels and an aproximate date.

Any engravings? How is the dial decorated?

A quick search on eBay produced "Illinois Watch Co, A. Lincoln, Wadsworth, Springfield"

Does it look anything like this : http://cgi.ebay.com/1922-Illinois-A-Lincoln-open-face-pocket-watch_W0QQitemZ220100727816QQihZ012QQcategoryZ10308QQcmdZViewItem

Or this : http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Illinois-21-Jewel-Abe-Lincoln-Pocket-Watch-Runs_W0QQitemZ180106503505QQihZ008QQcategoryZ10308QQcmdZViewItem

This link will bring up a search on "lincoln pocket patch" in eBay : http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?sofocus=bs&sbrftog=1&from=R10&satitle=lincoln+pocket+watch&sacat=-1%26catref%3DC6&sargn=-1%26saslc%3D2&sadis=200&fpos=3000&ftrt=1&ftrv=1&saprclo=&saprchi=&fsq=watches+wristwatches+pocket+watch+digital+watch+quartz&fsop=1%26fsoo%3D1&coaction=compare&copagenum=1&coentrypage=search

Many small labels were absorbed by large conglomerates, or simply went out of business. A lot of them were 'assemblers', rather than manufacturers, putting together watches from outsourced parts. That's not a bad thing as they often used good movements from the major makers such as Eta, A.Schild, Font, Lanco, etc. Thus it is often more helpful to see a pic of the movement in such watches. At least then the movement maker and calibre may be able to be ascertained. There is often very little, if any, information available on the small watch companies themselves.

Answer 2

Hello my Nana gave me a beautiful neck or pocket watch and the name on it is not too specific Very Watch 17 rubies Switzerland and it has a beautiful gold trim and face a navy back and some flowers in gold but as I search I can never find any other from the same brand , it works on movement so it has no battery I just don't dare to open , it is really heavy too . I hope you can help me , This is the front.

Answer 3

Take it to a jeweler I'm sure they could tell you. A pawn shop might be able to tell if it's authentic too