Dating Repairer Case Marks

[nichod]

I recently inherited an unknown (to me) Elgin.  The serial puts it at 1900 and is a grade 233 15j 12S sidewinder.  Kinda beaten up but actually runs.  Few more hours with Mark in the course videos and I hope to take it down for service.  No Kif Triors to plunge into the Ether as on my ST36 clones .  Yes, just received the tools and spares from Borel...  In for a penny, in for a pound!

Since I don't recall this watch, the history interests me.  It has several repairers marks, presumably from the first half of the 20TH century in the US:

3709E, 4501E, 5930E.   Possibly from the years '37, '45 & 59'?  Or was there any standard at the time?  I don't find references on the web.  The year and day, perhaps?

 

[oldhippy]

Many watch repairers have their own code. To solve this it would be like breaking the enigma code.  

[TexasDon]

If the watch was indeed repaired in the US, then the notations could be year and month with the E representing the Elgin factory repair center in Elgin, Illinois. It was still open until 1968 so your dates, if they are indeed dates, would all fit.

[nichod]

2 hours ago, TexasDon said:

If the watch was indeed repaired in the US, then the notations could be year and month with the E representing the Elgin factory repair center in Elgin, Illinois. It was still open until 1968 so your dates, if they are indeed dates, would all fit.

Knew they would be cryptic marks at best.  Due to it's age, I'll guess they were repair dates.  I'm delving into genealogy as much as anything.  It was in my grandfathers things and I do not really remember him having such a watch.  The family watch is an 18S Waltham 1883 which I had rebuilt in the mid 80's.  The Elgin came as a surprise.

I have it apart and nearly cleaned.  Looks pretty good.  Wow it was full of crud.  Can't imagine how it ran that way.

 

Thanks for the response.