Watch Description
What makes the Chicago 444 unique: For today’s Watch of the Day we are incredibly excited to bring you this stunning watch from the Elgin National Watch Company, our Chicago 444. We are always surprised by how popular this style of watch is for our lineup, and get excited when we find a bright white dial with large, bold numerals. The clean and elegant look of this watch continues to prove itself timeless, and will always stand out and gather attention. We went with our machined titanium case and nickel-plated crown to continue the modern feel and finished it off with our black cordovan strap and nickel-plated hardware throughout. As we turn this watch over we are immediately drawn to the gold-plated gears that shine through beneath this ¾ bridge plate. Additional gear patterns machined onto the crown wheel and mainspring barrel add more visual interest as they slowly turn. Adorned by 17 screw-set jewels and controlled by this Moseley regulator, this watch continues to provide accurate timekeeping almost 100 years later. The Elgin National Watch Company made more pocket watches than any other American watchmaker, creating more than 60 million watches in their 100-year reign. This watch was originally manufactured in Elgin, Illinois in 1924, with this particular production run of approximately 28,200 watches.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.
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Watch Specifications
- Manufacturer: Vortic Watch Company
- 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: 26918995
- Manufacture Year: 1924
- Function: Manual Wind
- Jewels: 17 Jewels
- Hands: Original
- Size: 12s
- Power Reserve: ~36 Hours
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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.
