Watch Description
The Chicago 422 is the 422nd 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 422 Unique: When we have the opportunity to work with an antique dial like this one, we see a wide array of wear, tear, and aging. While we’d love to read the book that tells this watch’s story, all we have in front of us is this spectacular dial. What appears to be aging from moisture over the course of many years has subtly changed the surface texture of this dial and given it a fantastic green and brown pattern. We wanted to enhance this characteristic by pairing it with an olive strap. The machined titanium case and nickel-plated hardware perfectly juxtapose the soft earth tones, creating a versatile watch that’s ready to be dressed up or down. On the underside of this Elgin is a flashy movement sure to steal your attention. Powered by a Breguet hairspring and brass balance wheel, this movement features 17 screw-set jewels, gold-plated gears beneath the ¾ bridge place, and a stunning, ornately machined pattern. This watch was originally manufactured in Elgin, Illinois in 1924. In the same year, U.S. Army aircrafts accomplished the first successful round-the-world flight.
1922
24765401
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: Nickel 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: 17 Jewels
- Hands: Original
- Size: 12s
- Power Reserve: ~36 Hours
The Chicago 422 is the 422nd 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 422 Unique: When we have the opportunity to work with an antique dial like this one, we see a wide array of wear, tear, and aging. While we’d love to read the book that tells this watch’s story, all we have in front of us is this spectacular dial. What appears to be aging from moisture over the course of many years has subtly changed the surface texture of this dial and given it a fantastic green and brown pattern. We wanted to enhance this characteristic by pairing it with an olive strap. The machined titanium case and nickel-plated hardware perfectly juxtapose the soft earth tones, creating a versatile watch that’s ready to be dressed up or down. On the underside of this Elgin is a flashy movement sure to steal your attention. Powered by a Breguet hairspring and brass balance wheel, this movement features 17 screw-set jewels, gold-plated gears beneath the ¾ bridge place, and a stunning, ornately machined pattern. This watch was originally manufactured in Elgin, Illinois in 1924. In the same year, U.S. Army aircrafts accomplished the first successful round-the-world flight.
1922
24765401
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.
