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The stopworks, or Maltese Cross, originated in Switzerland in the 1700s as a means of limiting mainspring travel in watches.  A single-tooth drive cam mounted on the barrel arbor meshed with a driven wheel that had a single closed spoke and several open ones, and after a specific number of rotations the closed spoke would lock the drive cam and prevent the mainspring from turning. What this did was utilize the middle two-thirds of the mainspring, where its torque was the most even, which improved the accuracy. Elgin began production of their 21-jewel pendant-set Grade 150 in 1895, but it's not known how many were equipped with stopworks, although it's rare to find them still on any watch that came with them. This example was just thoroughly restored with a new alloy mainspring, and it's in exceptional shape with a dazzling pattern on very clean plates. It fronts a correct double-sunk Roman-numeral dial behind correct swelled and blued spade hands, and comes in a gold-filled case that's just beautiful with sharp beading on the covers and no dents or inscriptions on the shield, with a tight bow and a new beveled glass crystal.