Watch Description
The Chicago 421 is the 421st 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 421 Unique: Often when we come across extremely high-quality movements, we try to keep them with their original dial and set them aside for special releases. This particular Elgin has a magnificent 23 Jewel movement with all the bells and whistles, intricately machined with ornate designs and pure sterling silver hardware. Made in a very low quantity run, only 3,000 of these movements were ever made. This particular batch contained only 1,000 in total. They paired this top-of-the-line movement with an incredibly special dial, which is 93.5 %, Sterling Silver. We really love the combination of such gorgeous and eye-catching double sunk Silver details, surrounded by a more aged look around the gold numerals. A soft sandblasted titanium case continues the silver look of this watch, without taking too much attention away from this flashy dial. Natural strap, gold plated crown, and hardware finish off the fine details of this amazing timepiece. Originally manufactured in 1898 in Elgin, Illinois, this watch is still working well in all its glory at over 123 years old! At the same time, New York City is becoming more of a prominent location on the East Coast and begins to absorb land from cities surrounding it to become Greater New York. Eventually splitting up the city into five separate boroughs, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, and Staten Island.
1898
7425571
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: 23 Jewels
- Hands: Original
- Size: 12s
- Power Reserve: ~36 Hours
The Chicago 421 is the 421st 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 421 Unique: Often when we come across extremely high-quality movements, we try to keep them with their original dial and set them aside for special releases. This particular Elgin has a magnificent 23 Jewel movement with all the bells and whistles, intricately machined with ornate designs and pure sterling silver hardware. Made in a very low quantity run, only 3,000 of these movements were ever made. This particular batch contained only 1,000 in total. They paired this top-of-the-line movement with an incredibly special dial, which is 93.5 %, Sterling Silver. We really love the combination of such gorgeous and eye-catching double sunk Silver details, surrounded by a more aged look around the gold numerals. A soft sandblasted titanium case continues the silver look of this watch, without taking too much attention away from this flashy dial. Natural strap, gold plated crown, and hardware finish off the fine details of this amazing timepiece. Originally manufactured in 1898 in Elgin, Illinois, this watch is still working well in all its glory at over 123 years old! At the same time, New York City is becoming more of a prominent location on the East Coast and begins to absorb land from cities surrounding it to become Greater New York. Eventually splitting up the city into five separate boroughs, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, and Staten Island.
1898
7425571
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.
