I don't know what you thought of the price I paid for the Bunn Special - $325 US - whether too low or too high. One of the problems about collecting these things over here in the UK is that they rarely come up for auction, either on eBay or in online auction houses.

You can pick up a standard Waltham in a nice Dennison case any old time for a reasonable price, partly because they made so many and partly because they exported so many to this country originally. There are far fewer Elgin watches on the market, very very few Hamiltons - and a Bunn Special is a rarity. I just had to grab this one when I spotted it. I used a sniping service (on your advice some time ago) and got in my bid just under the wire - and just under my maximum!

There's much more available to go for in the US, but then we have to pay customs & import duties on the item when it gets to the UK, plus whatever shipping charges the seller wants to charge.

Thanks for the heads-up on the Bunn balance staff. I'll be wearing kid gloves when I handle this watch!

Glad you approved of the Elgin case work, Dan. I might, at some stage, send the watch over to you for your Amish friend to service. It's been sent hither and thither for this work and I think it needs an adjustment. I think I'd rather send it to him via you and pay his costs and all postage. It's not that it mat or may not be cheaper - it's just that there are so few good horologists over here these days, especially ones who know about RR grade watches. Would that be OK with you?