Watch Description
What makes the Chicago 011 unique:Today, we’re delighted to showcase this unique, antique piece originally manufactured by the Elgin National Watch Company in 1908 — the Chicago 011. The Chicago features a pristine white dial with transparent hour numerals and detailed red minute numerals, and the front of the timepiece also includes a helpful subdial and blue-tinted hands. We paired this one-a-kind pocket watch with our stunning and robust Bronzed Titanium case, drawing further attention to the piece’s remarkable dial, and we paired it with a nickel-plated crown. Our Bronzed Titanium case features a clear back, enabling you to view this historic watch’s marvelous inner workings, including a 340-grade open-face movement with a Breguet hairspring and Moseley regulator. The gorgeous movement also features 17 screw-set jewels throughout its 3-finger bridge plate and boasts sumptuous gold-plated gears. To top the piece off, we matched it with our hand-crafted Merlot leather watch strap, making this highly original watch even more unique and eye-catching.
The Elgin National Watch Company initially produced the Chicago 011’s pocket watch in Elgin, Illinois, in 1908 — the same year Harvard University created the first ever Master of Business Administration program. The program was established by faculty members within Harvard’s Humanities department. They wanted to model the new program after Ecole des Sciences Politiques (Paris Institute of Political Studies), focusing on government service and diplomacy. When developing the program, Harvard faculty members decided to focus on particular business areas, and they implemented the case method style of teaching, a highly innovative approach at the time.
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
- Warranty: Full 1-Year Warranty
- Case Diameter: 49mm
- 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: 13181278
- Manufacture Year: 1908
- Function: Manual Wind
- Jewels: 17 Jewels
- Hands: Original
- Size: 16s
- Power Reserve: ~36 Hours
Today, we’re delighted to showcase this unique, antique piece originally manufactured by the Elgin National Watch Company in 1908 — the Chicago 011. The Chicago features a pristine white dial with transparent hour numerals and detailed red minute numerals, and the front of the timepiece also includes a helpful subdial and blue-tinted hands. We paired this one-a-kind pocket watch with our stunning and robust Bronzed Titanium case, drawing further attention to the piece’s remarkable dial, and we paired it with a nickel-plated crown. Our Bronzed Titanium case features a clear back, enabling you to view this historic watch’s marvelous inner workings, including a 340-grade open-face movement with a Breguet hairspring and Moseley regulator. The gorgeous movement also features 17 screw-set jewels throughout its 3-finger bridge plate and boasts sumptuous gold-plated gears. To top the piece off, we matched it with our hand-crafted Merlot leather watch strap, making this highly original watch even more unique and eye-catching.
The Elgin National Watch Company initially produced the Chicago 011’s pocket watch in Elgin, Illinois, in 1908 — the same year Harvard University created the first ever Master of Business Administration program. The program was established by faculty members within Harvard’s Humanities department. They wanted to model the new program after Ecole des Sciences Politiques (Paris Institute of Political Studies), focusing on government service and diplomacy. When developing the program, Harvard faculty members decided to focus on particular business areas, and they implemented the case method style of teaching, a highly innovative approach at the time.
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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.
