Watch Description
The Chicago 417 is the 417th 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 417 Unique: This week we are delighted to present a few very unique Hunting Style watches from the Elgin National Watch Company. When we say it is a Hunting Style, this refers to the position of the crown being at the 3 PM location instead of the common 12 PM. The reason they did this was that this watch would have had a clasp on the front to protect it, that pops open for viewing. With the crown located at the 3 PM position, it was thought that it was easily operated with one hand while your other handheld your rifle. This watch shows off its age with a wonderful amount of wear and tear on the dial, pronounced by this bold gunmetal case and dark blue steel hands. Our custom hunting style nickel-plated crown is a little smaller than our typical models and is complemented by nickel-plated hardware throughout. We paired the yellow tones of the dial with this rye strap to tie the whole watch together nicely. The movement of this watch contrasts the unique character of the dial with this incredibly clean and beautiful build plate, intricately machined to draw you in and want to explore this watch further. This movement is decorated with 17 screw-set jewels and stainless steel hardware all throughout. Beneath this large build plate and regulator lies gold-plated gears and a brass balance wheel, keeping everything ticking away all these years later. Originally manufactured in Elgin, Illinois in 1917, this watch is a wonderful representation of history and American craftsmanship. At this same time, WWI was heating up in Europe, eventually drawing America to join the fight. Men were leaving their hunting in the woods of Illinois to take their skills with a rifle across the Atlantic Ocean to defeat Germany. Perhaps they decided to carry their Elgin pocket watches with them to war and brought them back when the war was over to be passed on to future generations.
1917
19637720
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: Titanium
- 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 417 is the 417th 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 417 Unique: This week we are delighted to present a few very unique Hunting Style watches from the Elgin National Watch Company. When we say it is a Hunting Style, this refers to the position of the crown being at the 3 PM location instead of the common 12 PM. The reason they did this was that this watch would have had a clasp on the front to protect it, that pops open for viewing. With the crown located at the 3 PM position, it was thought that it was easily operated with one hand while your other handheld your rifle. This watch shows off its age with a wonderful amount of wear and tear on the dial, pronounced by this bold gunmetal case and dark blue steel hands. Our custom hunting style nickel-plated crown is a little smaller than our typical models and is complemented by nickel-plated hardware throughout. We paired the yellow tones of the dial with this rye strap to tie the whole watch together nicely. The movement of this watch contrasts the unique character of the dial with this incredibly clean and beautiful build plate, intricately machined to draw you in and want to explore this watch further. This movement is decorated with 17 screw-set jewels and stainless steel hardware all throughout. Beneath this large build plate and regulator lies gold-plated gears and a brass balance wheel, keeping everything ticking away all these years later. Originally manufactured in Elgin, Illinois in 1917, this watch is a wonderful representation of history and American craftsmanship. At this same time, WWI was heating up in Europe, eventually drawing America to join the fight. Men were leaving their hunting in the woods of Illinois to take their skills with a rifle across the Atlantic Ocean to defeat Germany. Perhaps they decided to carry their Elgin pocket watches with them to war and brought them back when the war was over to be passed on to future generations.
1917
19637720
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.
