Watch Description
The Chicago 359 is the 359th one-of-a-kind piece in Vortic's "Chicago" line of the American Artisan Series. This watch contains the original movement (timepiece), dial (face), and hands from a vintage (1880’s – 1950’s) pocket watch. The American Artisan Series is a line of fully American Made wristwatches powered by restored, U.S. made pocket watch movements.
What makes the Chicago 359 Unique: Breathing new life into antique watches is a labor of love. It’s incredible to see how our team can transform them after they’ve lived so many years in different hands. This watch is no exception, with this incredibly unique dial. With much of its finer details worn away by time, the numerals are left behind to stand out. Blue steel, kite-shaped hands create contrast across the face of the dial and pair perfectly with our sandblasted titanium case. We added a custom patina on our copper crown and finished it off with a stout band. We appreciate that the movement powering this watch looks almost the same as the day it left the factory in Elgin, Illinois. A wonderfully designed bridge plate sprawls out over the inner workings of the gears and balance wheel. 17 dark, ruby jewels keep this moving running smoothly along with gold-plated gears and a brass balance. This movement was originally manufactured in 1924 by the Elgin National Watch Company. This was also the first year of the Winter Olympics, and American speed skater Charles Jewtraw won the very first Olympic Gold Medal to be awarded at the Winter Olympics.
1924
26783645
Movement Manufacturer Information
The movement inside of this watch was made by Elgin Watch Company. We call this model "The Chicago" because of the company's proximity to the city.
Also known as Elgin National Watch Company, Elgin wasn't only the largest watch manufacturer in the United States, but the largest watch manufacturer in the world for almost 100 years, operating from 1864-1964. The company often used a depiction of father time on advertisements. At one point, the company was making 7,500 watch movements per week and had 2,300 employees. The factory was demolished in 1966 and replaced with a shopping center.
Legal Disclaimer: All product and company names, logos, brands, and other trademarks featured or referred to within Vortic's products and services are the property of their respective intellectual property rights holders, if any. Those intellectual property rights holders, other than Vortic, LLC, are not affiliated with Vortic, LLC, our products, or our website. They do not sponsor or endorse our materials.
Watch Specifications
- Manufacturer: Vortic Watch Company
- Model Year: 2021
- Warranty: Full 1-Year Warranty
- Case Dimensions:
- Diameter: 47mm
- Thickness: 12mm
- Lug to Lug: 55mm
- Lug Width: 22mm
- Case Material: Machined Titanium
- Crown/Hardware: Nickel Plated
- Water Resistance: 1 ATM
- Crystals: Sapphire
- Case Back: Stainless Steel
- Strap: Leather
Movement
- Manufacturer: Elgin Watch Company
- Serial Number:
- Manufacture Year:
- Function: Manual Wind
- Jewels: 17 Jewels
- Hands: Original
- Size: 12s
- Power Reserve: ~36 Hours
The Chicago 359 is the 359th one-of-a-kind piece in Vortic's "Chicago" line of the American Artisan Series. This watch contains the original movement (timepiece), dial (face), and hands from a vintage (1880’s – 1950’s) pocket watch. The American Artisan Series is a line of fully American Made wristwatches powered by restored, U.S. made pocket watch movements.
What makes the Chicago 359 Unique: Breathing new life into antique watches is a labor of love. It’s incredible to see how our team can transform them after they’ve lived so many years in different hands. This watch is no exception, with this incredibly unique dial. With much of its finer details worn away by time, the numerals are left behind to stand out. Blue steel, kite-shaped hands create contrast across the face of the dial and pair perfectly with our sandblasted titanium case. We added a custom patina on our copper crown and finished it off with a stout band. We appreciate that the movement powering this watch looks almost the same as the day it left the factory in Elgin, Illinois. A wonderfully designed bridge plate sprawls out over the inner workings of the gears and balance wheel. 17 dark, ruby jewels keep this moving running smoothly along with gold-plated gears and a brass balance. This movement was originally manufactured in 1924 by the Elgin National Watch Company. This was also the first year of the Winter Olympics, and American speed skater Charles Jewtraw won the very first Olympic Gold Medal to be awarded at the Winter Olympics.
1924
26783645
Let customers speak for us
The Movement
The engine that powers this watch is an antique American pocket watch movement. All the gears and springs that make it tell time are roughly 100 years old on average. We call these watches the American Artisan Series because we're celebrating the history and legacy of the artisan watchmakers who built this engineering marvel a century ago in the United States.
The Story
Today most pocket watches are scrapped for the gold or silver of the case (the outside of the antique timepiece), leaving the inside (what we call the "movement") as trash.
We take pride in upcycling these pieces of American history by salvaging as many as we can, then preserving them inside our wristwatches.
Our expert team of watchmakers restores the antique movement and then we manufacture a custom wristwatch case here in Fort Collins, Colorado.
The Strap
We partnered with Worn & Wound to produce a custom set of straps for our American Artisan Series watches. We now have 15 different colors to choose from including our two Horween Shell Cordovan options. These straps are made in the USA and are based on the Windup Model 2 Premium strap that Worn and Wound offers.
