Watch Description
The Chicago 434 is the 434th 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 434 Unique: We extend our showcase of Hunting Style watches this week by presenting this truly one-of-a-kind watch from the Elgin National Watch Company. In the early 1920s and 1930s, railroad companies began to set standards for timekeeping and pocket watches to qualify for service on the trains. One of these specifications was that the crown had to be at the 12 o'clock position. Because of this, watch companies made these conversion dials that let you turn your older Hunting Style watch into an open-face watch by rotating the movement by 90 degrees, placing the second indicator over at the 3 o'clock position, and thus moving the crown up to the top. This watch could then pass railroad standards and be used by conductors without having to purchase a whole new watch. This makes for quite an interesting story, as most older watches like this would not expect to see the second indicator in this position. We love how the gold-colored accents of this dial contrast this soft, worn face. We matched the dial with this sandblasted titanium case, as well as gold-plated hardware and crown. As you turn the watch over to view the movement, you might notice everything is shifted in a different orientation, showing off the unique shape of this ¾ plate and carefully machined design. This watch is powered by 17 screw-set jewels as well as gold-plated gears, and a Moseley regulator. A brass balance wheel with double roller escapement helps everything run smoothly all these years later. Originally produced by the Elgin National Watch Company as a Hunting Style pocket watch in 1916 in Elgin, Illinois. In July of this same year, a series of deadly shark attacks occurred on the shores of New Jersey from the same shark, resulting in the death of four. Later known as the Jersey Shore Shark Attacks of 1916, this eventually became the inspiration behind the story Jaws, created by Peter Benchley.
1916
18614236
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: Gold 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 434 is the 434th 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 434 Unique: We extend our showcase of Hunting Style watches this week by presenting this truly one-of-a-kind watch from the Elgin National Watch Company. In the early 1920s and 1930s, railroad companies began to set standards for timekeeping and pocket watches to qualify for service on the trains. One of these specifications was that the crown had to be at the 12 o'clock position. Because of this, watch companies made these conversion dials that let you turn your older Hunting Style watch into an open-face watch by rotating the movement by 90 degrees, placing the second indicator over at the 3 o'clock position, and thus moving the crown up to the top. This watch could then pass railroad standards and be used by conductors without having to purchase a whole new watch. This makes for quite an interesting story, as most older watches like this would not expect to see the second indicator in this position. We love how the gold-colored accents of this dial contrast this soft, worn face. We matched the dial with this sandblasted titanium case, as well as gold-plated hardware and crown. As you turn the watch over to view the movement, you might notice everything is shifted in a different orientation, showing off the unique shape of this ¾ plate and carefully machined design. This watch is powered by 17 screw-set jewels as well as gold-plated gears, and a Moseley regulator. A brass balance wheel with double roller escapement helps everything run smoothly all these years later. Originally produced by the Elgin National Watch Company as a Hunting Style pocket watch in 1916 in Elgin, Illinois. In July of this same year, a series of deadly shark attacks occurred on the shores of New Jersey from the same shark, resulting in the death of four. Later known as the Jersey Shore Shark Attacks of 1916, this eventually became the inspiration behind the story Jaws, created by Peter Benchley.
1916
18614236
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.
