Watch Description
The Chicago 426 is the 426th 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 426 Unique: Did you know that the Elgin National Watch Company produced over 55 million watches between 1864 and 1968? You’d think that with so many Elgins in existence, that finding new and exciting dials and movements would be a difficult task. This unique timepiece is just one of many that we’re happy to breathe new life into, and yet, there are still so many more! This particular dial features a star design, nicely aged numerals, and a font we rarely see. We paired it with our gunmetal titanium case to accent the numerals. Aged, gothic-style hands pair well with the rustic motif of the dial while the gold-plated crown and olive strap add a touch of modernity. The movement has been intricately machined by a rose engine lathe to produce the incredible pattern across the steel build plate. 17 screw-set jewels power its gold-plated gears. This fantastic movement, which is powered by a Moseley regulator and a Breguet hairspring, was originally manufactured by the Elgin National Watch company in 1925, in Elgin, Illinois. In October of this same year, the Pittsburgh Pirates won their second world series title, defeating the Washington Senators.
1925
28066695
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: 17 Jewels
- Hands: Original
- Size: 12s
- Power Reserve: ~36 Hours
The Chicago 426 is the 426th 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 426 Unique: Did you know that the Elgin National Watch Company produced over 55 million watches between 1864 and 1968? You’d think that with so many Elgins in existence, that finding new and exciting dials and movements would be a difficult task. This unique timepiece is just one of many that we’re happy to breathe new life into, and yet, there are still so many more! This particular dial features a star design, nicely aged numerals, and a font we rarely see. We paired it with our gunmetal titanium case to accent the numerals. Aged, gothic-style hands pair well with the rustic motif of the dial while the gold-plated crown and olive strap add a touch of modernity. The movement has been intricately machined by a rose engine lathe to produce the incredible pattern across the steel build plate. 17 screw-set jewels power its gold-plated gears. This fantastic movement, which is powered by a Moseley regulator and a Breguet hairspring, was originally manufactured by the Elgin National Watch company in 1925, in Elgin, Illinois. In October of this same year, the Pittsburgh Pirates won their second world series title, defeating the Washington Senators.
1925
28066695
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.
