subject: Illinois Pocket Watches Were A Dream Come True [print this page] The Illinois Watch Company was born during the great era of entrepreneurship, when so many of today's greatest empires were formed. Seven men, among them a lawyer, a merchant, and a grocery store owner, founded the Illinois Springfield Watch Company in 1870 with stars in their eyes and a dream in their hearts.
A hundred years later the Illinois Pocket Watches fascinate watch collectors and watch lovers the world over. The collectors items are the key-wound type and the Railroad Quality, the 'Bunn Special,? and the Illinois Pocket Watch- the 'Stuart'. One can feel happy that there is no match to the Illinois Pocket Watch.
Even though the company changed its name several times over the years, they never removed the Illinois from their name, and this is what gave them the beauty as well as the quality that all Illinois Watch lovers have come to recognize. But this was all to end in 1920, when it was bought out by the Hamilton Watch Company, literally marking the end of an era.
This was a sad ending for such a great watch manufacturing company but the Hamilton Company continued production at the Illinois factory up until 1932. This was the last year where a true Illinois Watch rolled through the assembly line at the Illinois Watch Company factory. Watches were still being manufactured here for some years to come, but what they lacked were the quality, craftsmanship and the love that went into every Illinois watch. And soon enough, production ceased permanently.
The Illinois Watches are one of the big prizes in watch collector?s repositories. The watch collectors look forward with anticipation for that glimpse of the original Illinois watch. Historians as much as the collectors, these aficionados scour antique shops, online portals and their attics to search for that ultimate show piece of the Illinois Watch Company. Today, these watches remain among the most sought-after collectibles, and watch enthusiasts and historians alike scour antique shops, websites, and their grandfather's trunks seeking their favourite model.
