Pocket Watch Database
Rockford Grade 88
Grade 88 Movement Characteristics
- Size18s
- Jewels16j
- ConfigurationOpenface
- FinishTwo-Tone
- Model7
- SettingLever
- AdjustedYes
Grade 88 Production Info
- Total Production1,700
- Number of Runs5
- Production Years1888-1890
- First Serial310,501
- Last Serial352,500
- Largest Run500
- Smallest Run200
- Most Common Run200
Research Notes
Rockford Serial Lists designate five distinct runs as Grade 88, built using the Openface Model 7 design and featuring two-tone plates with 16 jewels in red gold settings. According to factory serial lists, 1,700 Grade 88 movements were produced in the late 1880s and sold into the 1890s. Standard movements are marked "R.W.Co. - Rockford Ill. - Adjusted" in a blackletter ("Old English") style. In the c.1891 M.C. Eppenstein & Co. catalog, the Grade 88 is the finest Rockford grade available, demanding a price of $40.00. The 1896 A.C. Becken catalog describes the Grade 70 as "finely adjusted" and featuring a "large ruby center jewel" and "red gold settings." By 1899, the grade no longer appeared in the A.C. Becken annual catalog, likely discontinued after the 17 Jewel movements became more favorable in the market.
The c.1891 M.C. Eppenstein & Co. catalog describes the Grade 88 as "fully and finely adjusted," indicating the movements were adjusted to temperature, isochronism, and positions.
In the December 1890 issue of The Jewelers' Circular, the "16-Jewel Rockford movement" was reported to be "nearly read for the market" and "pronounced by judges to be very handsome."
Anomalies:
[#352346] Verified as Private Label Marked "Otto Wettstein - Rochelle, Ill. - Adjusted - 21 Jewels" with a different two-tone pattern than what is commonly recorded on other Grade 88 movements