1909 Rockford Iroquois Grade 350 Model 1 17-Jewel Pocket Watch Serial 822099
$649.00
WHY THIS WATCH MATTERS
This Rockford matters for more than its movement. The watch was made in the same Illinois city where The Found Dial’s founder once lived and worked, and the surviving Rockford factory building was visible from his photography studio. Finding a hometown Rockford in a period Rockford Watch Co. presentation box turned an online auction into something much more personal.
The Grade 350 itself is a compact 12-size, 17-jewel hunting movement produced in comparatively limited runs near the end of Rockford Watch Co.’s history. This example pairs the cursive Iroquois-signed movement with a white Arabic-numeral dial, red five-minute track, ornate engine-turned gold-filled hunting case and a period Rockford Watch Co. box worth preserving exactly as found.
READ THE FULL REFERENCE ROOM DEEP DIVE →
The hometown connection, Iroquois Grade 350 movement, period Rockford box, factory history, case details and restoration of this exact watch.
THE HARD DETAILS
| Maker | Rockford Watch Co. |
| Model / Marking | Iroquois |
| Grade | 350 |
| Model | 1 |
| Movement Serial | 822099 |
| Production | Circa 1909 |
| Movement | 12-size, pendant-set hunting movement |
| Jewels | 17 |
| Case | Gold-filled hunting case; marked Warranted 25 Years |
| Case Serial | 1750348 |
| Case Diameter | 48.2 mm |
| Overall Length | Approximately 65 mm from top of bow to bottom of case |
| Thickness | 10.6 mm |
| Dial | White dial with bold black Arabic numerals, red five-minute numerals and subsidiary seconds |
| Hands | Blued steel hands |
| Country | United States |
| Current Rate | Approximately +30 sec/day |
| Amplitude | 254° observed |
| Included | Period Rockford Watch Co. presentation box; original pairing not documented |
OPERATING CONDITION
The movement is running very well. At the time of testing it showed approximately +30 seconds per day with an observed amplitude of 254°. These measurements are a snapshot of current performance rather than a guarantee of future accuracy.
As with any antique mechanical watch, complete prior service history is unknown unless specifically documented.
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WHAT WAS DONE
The watch received extensive careful hand polishing to bring back the presentation of the case without treating it as a newly manufactured object. No parts are documented as replaced.
The Rockford presentation box was deliberately left completely untouched so its age, wear and material history remain intact.
CONDITION & ORIGINALITY
The watch presents in strong antique condition with age-related wear consistent with a piece produced more than a century ago. The new close-up photographs show the engine-turned texture of the hunting case clearly, including the contrasting monogrammed outer cover, and also document case serial 1750348 inside the cover.
The white dial remains highly legible with bold black Arabic numerals, red five-minute numerals, blued hands and subsidiary seconds. The case is marked “Warranted 25 Years,” consistent with a gold-filled case rather than solid gold. Interior service markings are present near the movement, documenting prior watchmaker attention. No replacement parts are documented by The Found Dial.
THE STORY OF THIS WATCH
This watch came from an online auction that turned into a bidding war. The presentation box was part of the draw, but the larger reason was geographical: Rockford, Illinois was once home, and the old Rockford Watch Co. building could be seen from the founder’s photography studio.
Pocket watches are not normally the focus of the hunt, but a hometown watch in its Rockford box was difficult to leave behind. Researching the Grade 350 opened a deeper path into the history of a manufacturer whose factory still stands in the city where the watch was made.
REFERENCE & MODEL HISTORY
Rockford’s Grade 350 is documented as a 12-size, Model 1, 17-jewel hunting movement with nickel finish and pendant setting. Surviving production records place the grade in three runs totaling approximately 1,800 movements during 1909–1910. Movement serial 822099 falls within the 822001–823000 production run, associated with 1909.
ABOUT THE BRAND
Rockford Watch Co. operated in Rockford, Illinois from the 1870s until 1915. The company emerged from tooling and expertise connected to the earlier Cornell Watch Co. and grew into a significant local manufacturer, producing watches in a wide range of grades and sizes.
Rockford was closely connected to railroad culture and marketed heavily to railroad workers. By the late 1880s the factory employed hundreds of people. The company ultimately produced roughly one million watches before closing in 1915, and the former factory building still survives in Rockford.
FOUND DETAILS
Found through an online auction. The bidding became competitive, driven in part by the watch itself and in part by its period Rockford presentation box. The personal connection to Rockford, Illinois made this one worth pursuing beyond the usual parameters of the hunt.
WHAT COMES WITH THE WATCH
The pocket watch is supplied with the period Rockford Watch Co. presentation box shown in the photographs. The box is original Rockford Watch Co. material, but there is no documentation proving that this exact watch and box were originally sold together. The box has been intentionally preserved as found and has not been cosmetically restored.
A NOTE ON VINTAGE
This is an antique mechanical pocket watch with normal age-related wear and an incomplete known service history. Current timing results are observational and can change with position, state of wind, temperature, handling and future service needs.
PHOTOGRAPHED PURELY. SOLD HONESTLY.
These photographs are intended to show the watch as accurately as possible—the wear, the patina, the imperfections, and the details that matter. If there is something you want to see more closely before buying, ask.
