Watch Description
The Chicago 419 is the 419th 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 419 Unique: Today’s Watch of the Day is the Chicago 419, a beautiful example of a classic Elgin with a very special and rare Strand movement from 1917. These older Elgin movements have a way of making a nice clean and simple dial look so distinguished and sophisticated. Our mojave strap and machined titanium case compliment this watch in a way that makes it very modern rustic, without being overstated. We topped it off with a copper crown to bring some contrast to the Blue Steel solid kite hands. This watch was manufactured in 1917 in Elgin, Illinois, which proved to be a somewhat difficult time for the Chicago area as WWI was breaking out. The largest immigrant population of Chicago at that time was primarily German-Americans, which created a lot of tension as the city was trying desperately to be portrayed as neutral to the war, so as to not upset some of its citizens who were sympathizing with Germany. Elgin continued to manufacture watches throughout this time and we are happy to see these watches continue to come through the shop from time to time.
1917
19779992
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: Copper
- 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 419 is the 419th 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 419 Unique: Today’s Watch of the Day is the Chicago 419, a beautiful example of a classic Elgin with a very special and rare Strand movement from 1917. These older Elgin movements have a way of making a nice clean and simple dial look so distinguished and sophisticated. Our mojave strap and machined titanium case compliment this watch in a way that makes it very modern rustic, without being overstated. We topped it off with a copper crown to bring some contrast to the Blue Steel solid kite hands. This watch was manufactured in 1917 in Elgin, Illinois, which proved to be a somewhat difficult time for the Chicago area as WWI was breaking out. The largest immigrant population of Chicago at that time was primarily German-Americans, which created a lot of tension as the city was trying desperately to be portrayed as neutral to the war, so as to not upset some of its citizens who were sympathizing with Germany. Elgin continued to manufacture watches throughout this time and we are happy to see these watches continue to come through the shop from time to time.
1917
19779992
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.
