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Founded in Chicago in 1864, the National Watch Company moved to Elgin the next year, and was re-named the Elgin Watch Company. The company's first watches were key wind pocket watches, including smaller sized ladies watches. Most of the watch movements Elgin made were sold as movements, and had cases put on later. Elgin successfully introduced its first wrist watch in 1910.
The company was contracted by the army during WWI to make repairs in the field, as watches were a valuable military tool. Elgin survived through WW2, but afterward was unable to compete with overseas producers. The name Elgin was later sold, and the name Elgin today bears no relation to the original company.
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I got interested in pocket watches from working on mechanical things. I had an old car, and working on it gave me i… [more]
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Tom McIntyre’s reference site on antique watches, especially those made by the American Watch Company (later know… [read review or visit site]
Steve Waddington’s vintage Omega watch site, featuring in-depth pages on models like Omega’s Pilot Line, Chrono… [read review or visit site]
Jeffrey Stein's great reference site on Heuer chronographs and dashboard timepieces. This site offers everything yo… [read review or visit site]
Paul Schliesser's elegant site offers a comprehensive history of the Gruen Watch Company of Ohio. The easy-to-navig… [read review or visit site]
Rob Berkavicius' labor of love for Accutrons and Accutron technical information contains extraordinarily detailed d… [read review or visit site]
This website, from the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva, gives visitors a satisfying glimpse into the world of watch… [read review or visit site]
This virtual museum, created by the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors, lets you stroll through tim… [read review or visit site]
This gallery of hundreds of LCD and calculator watches from the 1980s includes nerd-friendly brands like Casio, Sei… [read review or visit site]
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