The Elgin National Watch Company, commonly known as Elgin Watch Company, was a major US watch maker from 1864 to 1968. The company sold watches under the names Elgin, Lord Elgin, and Lady Elgin. For nearly 100 years, the company's manufacturing complex in Elgin, Illinois, was the world's largest site dedicated to watchmaking.

History

The company was first incorporated in August 1864 as the National Watch Company in Chicago, Illinois, by Philo Carpenter, Howard Z. Culver,

Benjamin W. Raymond Benjamin Wright Raymond (June 15, 1801April 6, 1883) was an American politician who twice served as mayor of Chicago, Illinois (1839–1840, 1842–1843) for the Whig Party. Early life Raymond was born in Rome, New York to Benjamin and Hannah ...

, George M. Wheeler, Thomas S. Dickerson and W. Robbins. In September of the same year, the founders visited the Waltham Watch Company in Waltham, Massachusetts and successfully convinced seven of Waltham's watchmakers to come to work for their new company. The growing young city of Elgin, Illinois, some 30 miles northwest of Chicago, was chosen as the factory site. Initially, as part of the deal, the city was asked to donate 35 acres (142,000 m²) of land for the construction of the factory. The city selected a derelict farm; however, the owners refused to sell the property unless the city purchased their entire 71 acres for $3,550. Four Elgin businessmen agreed to acquire the property and then donated the required 35 acres to the watch company. The company reorganized in April 1865 and completed the factory in 1866. The first

movement Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...

, delivered in 1867, was named the B.W. Raymond in honor of Benjamin W. Raymond. The watch was an 18-size, full plate design. In 1869, the National Watch Company won "Best Watches, Illinois Manufacture" at the 17th Annual

Illinois State Fair The Illinois State Fair is an annual festival, centering on the theme of agriculture, hosted by the U.S. state of Illinois in the state capital, Springfield. The state fair has been celebrated almost every year since 1853. Currently, the fa ...

, for which it won a silver medal. The company officially changed its name to the Elgin National Watch Company in 1874, as the Elgin name had come into common usage for their watches.

Later history

The company built the Elgin National Watch Company Observatory in 1910 to maintain scientifically precise times in their watches. The company produced many of the

self-winding An automatic watch, also known as a self-winding watch or simply an automatic, is a mechanical watch where the natural motion of the wearer provides energy to wind the mainspring, making manual winding unnecessary if worn enough. It is distinguis ...

wristwatch movements made in the United States, beginning with the 607 and 618 calibers (which were bumper wind) and the calibers 760 and 761 (30 and 27 jewels respectively). During World War II, the company halted all civilian manufacturing. It moved into the defense industry, manufacturing

military watches A watch is a portable timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is designed to be worn around the wrist, attached ...

, chronometers, fuzes for artillery shells, altimeters, and other aircraft instruments and sapphire bearings used for aiming cannons. Over time, the company operated several additional plants, mostly in Elgin. However, the company also located additional plants in

Aurora, Illinois Aurora is a city in the Chicago metropolitan area located partially in DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage, Kane County, Illinois, Kane, Kendall County, Illinois, Kendall, and Will County, Illinois, Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Locat ...

and Lincoln, Nebraska. In 1963, the company relocated most manufacturing operations to a new plant in Blaney, a town near Columbia, South Carolina, which renamed itself Elgin, South Carolina. The original, obsolete factory in Elgin closed in 1964 after having produced half of the total number of pocket watches manufactured in the United States ( dollar-type not included). The plant was razed in 1966. The company maintained a leased building in Elgin that housed offices and casing, fitting, shipping, service, and trade material departments until about 1970. The company discontinued all US manufacturing in 1968 and sold the rights to the name "Elgin", which were subsequently resold multiple times over the years. The rights eventually were purchased by MZ Berger Inc., which manufactures its watches in China and distributes them outside traditional watch dealerships. Elgin-branded watches produced after 1968 have no connection to the Elgin Watch Company. The city of Elgin, North Dakota, derives its name from the watch brand. Likewise,

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

Hall of Famer Elgin Baylor was named after the Elgin National Watch Company.Elgin Baylor bio at NBA website
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Gallery

File:Elgin_watch_front_closed.jpg, Front of an Elgin pocket watch from 1911 in a hunter-style closed case with the stem located at the 3 o'clock position. File:Elgin_watch_front_partial.JPG, Pocket watch with opened cover plate. File:Elgin_watch_back_opened.jpg, Movement of the same pocket watch. File:1919 Elgin National Watch Company USA.jpg, Movement of an Elgin pocket watch. cir.1919 S/N 21,667,498

References

Sources

*''Complete Watch Guide'', by Cooksey Shugart, Tom Engle, Richard E. Gilbert, 1998 ed.,

External links