Hi Guy,
Yours is probably (even with the octagon shaped case) a more common design for a smaller ladies watch, circa 1900-1930.There were a zillion companies making similar watches at the turn of the century. It does look to be gold- but its hard to tell for sure. The best way to tell is to remove the back of the watch case and look at both the watch works for company name and on the inside case back cover for marks denoting the case`s gold content. It should (if its gold) be marked either 10 K or 14K, or it could be gold filled.You should have no problem replacing the case back afterwards. Let us know what you find out.
Where in N.C. are you? I live in the Erwin/ Dunn area. Neat Find!!! God Bless ,--- Charlie in NC