Looking for an antique elgin pocket watches that was created with excellent precision, has a great value, and represents one of the most famous American watch companies of all time? The Elgin pocket watch is a good place to start.
Elgin is a well-known brand name.
Few people are aware that a Hall of Fame basketball player and a municipality were named after a pocket watch company. Elgin Baylor was named after the Elgin pocket watch and played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association.
Elgin, North Dakota, was founded by a group of settlers who were inspired by the pocket watch manufacturer. One of the residents of the little village owned an Elgin pocket watch, which was perhaps the only one of its kind for hundreds of miles. The watch was so well-known that the town was named after it. The city of Elgin was founded in 1910.
From the start, we had huge ambitions.
The National Watch Company was founded in 1864 in Chicago, Illinois, by a group of individuals who shared a same purpose but diverse interests. To establish the greatest pocket watch manufacturer in America. “It was the real, bold, self-reliant Western spirit,” according to a Harper’s magazine article. The name of the firm will change to Elgin National Watch Company a few months later.
This diverse group of founders came from a variety of backgrounds, but they were all established leaders in their industries. Philo Carpenter is credited as becoming the state’s first pharmacist. George Montague Wheeler, another Elgin pioneer, was a well-known mapmaker and adventurer.
It was a fantastic strategy to have star power and name recognition among the original set of co-founders, but now they required watchmaking expertise. The Chicago founders went on a recruiting drive at the American Waltham Watch Co. in Massachusetts. During the tour, seven Waltham watchmakers were persuaded to join the newly established Elgin company.
Expertise in Elgin Pocket Watches
The “Seven Stars” were a group of seven elite watchmakers who would lend their expertise to the Illinois start-up. Elgin was poised to become one of the great American watch makers, thanks to freshly acquired watchmaking skills from an established east-coast competitor.
B.W. Raymond, the former Mayor of Chicago, was one of the Elgin Watch Company’s founders. Benjamin W. Raymond had a successful business career after his stint in politics. In Elgin, Illinois, he established the first woollen plant. Raymond thereafter became the president of the Fox River Railroad. J.C. Adams, who was working at the Waltham Watch Firm at the time, persuaded him to invest in a new watch company not long after.
The firm was named after the city of Elgin when the city gave 35 acres to the group of watch entrepreneurs for their new headquarters. The “B.W. Raymond” was the name given to the company’s initial Elgin movements.
Dominance of Elgin Pocket Watches
Around the time the American Civil War ended in 1867, the business began selling pocket watches. Elgin watches retailed for approximately $120 new. Nearly the following 100 years, the firm would produce over 60 million watches. With these manufacturing statistics, the firm is the largest watch manufacturer in the United States in terms of volume.
Elgin employed over 2,000 people and produced over 7,000 watches each week just a few years after its founding. Elgin would have to mass-produce watch parts on-site in order to become the largest American watch maker.
The 170,000-square-foot facility would allow the firm to concentrate on machined, interchangeable parts. Not just for new timepieces, but also for repairing old watches with replacement components and spare parts, mass-production was essential. If the firm wanted to expand, it needed to provide replacement components to watch owners swiftly and effectively.
Vintage and Antique Elgin Watches
Elgin watches from the 1800s have a wide range of resale prices, depending on their condition. But there’s no disputing that Elgin watches provide amazing value when compared to vintage and antique Swiss premium brands. Vintage Elgin watches in great condition and still ticking flawlessly may be found for just a few thousand dollars.
The vintage Elgin pocket watch seen above just sold for $6,400 on eBay. It dates from 1897 and comes in a 14 carat solid gold boxed hinged multicolor case. The antique watch has a rose dial with gold accents and a grade number of 169. The watch “runs strong and keeps good time,” according to the previous owner. Considering the watch is almost 120 years old, this is rather remarkable. Collectors of vintage and antique watches can’t overlook the worth of Elgin items like these.
The antique Elgin watches seen above just sold for $2,995. The model 18S watch, grade number 348, was one of just 3,698 made over a century ago. The railroad grade gold Elgin pocket watch had a beautiful enamelled dial with 12-hour Arabic numerals. A 14 carat gold box hinged double hunter case is also included.
An Era Has Come to an End
Elgin Watch Company was destroyed in 1966. The renowned brand would be overtaken by time. The decision to cease production was made after sales had dropped considerably. Elgin National Watch Co.’s final watches were put together from pieces that were left over in the factory.
By the late 1960s, all sales partnerships had ended, and the remaining equipment and material had been sold. The company’s one-hundred-year reign as the leading American watchmaker came to an end.
Elgin will be remembered as a renowned American watchmaker. An American watch company devoted to manufacturing high-quality timepieces that provide precise and trustworthy timekeeping for individuals all around the world.
A glimpse of a fantastic antique Elgin pocket watch up close. The company’s mass-production mindset didn’t stop it from focusing on quality, design, and dependability. Many vintage and antique Elgin pocket watches that are over a century old are still ticking and keeping precise “Railroad Time.”
