Watch Description
The Chicago 438 is the 438th 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 438 Unique: We are proud to release this incredible timepiece from the Elgin National Watch Company, the Chicago 438. We are immediately drawn in by the rustic feel and aged dial within this watch, beautifully accompanied by our moss green strap. The darker gunmetal case blends perfectly with the tones of the numerals and rough wear around the edge of the dial. Our copper crown and hardware stand out and accent all the wonderful features of this watch nicely. Once the movement inside is revealed, we find an absolutely pristine timepiece manufactured in Elgin, Illinois in 1927. The bridge plate has been intricately machined to show off the skills and craftsmanship of the time, adorned with 17 screw-set jewels throughout. The gold-plated gears and brass balance wheel shine through from beneath and add some nice elements of specialty metal and flare to the earth tones of this watch. This was also the same year as the Great Mississippi River Flood of 1927, the largest river flood in American history. The flood affected over 16 million acres of land and displaced over 640,000 people.
1927
29430618
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: Gunmetal 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 438 is the 438th 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 438 Unique: We are proud to release this incredible timepiece from the Elgin National Watch Company, the Chicago 438. We are immediately drawn in by the rustic feel and aged dial within this watch, beautifully accompanied by our moss green strap. The darker gunmetal case blends perfectly with the tones of the numerals and rough wear around the edge of the dial. Our copper crown and hardware stand out and accent all the wonderful features of this watch nicely. Once the movement inside is revealed, we find an absolutely pristine timepiece manufactured in Elgin, Illinois in 1927. The bridge plate has been intricately machined to show off the skills and craftsmanship of the time, adorned with 17 screw-set jewels throughout. The gold-plated gears and brass balance wheel shine through from beneath and add some nice elements of specialty metal and flare to the earth tones of this watch. This was also the same year as the Great Mississippi River Flood of 1927, the largest river flood in American history. The flood affected over 16 million acres of land and displaced over 640,000 people.
1927
29430618
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.
