Elgin National Watch Company
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Elgin Watch Company (National Watch Company) was founded in 1864.
Some of the organizers came from Waltham Watch Company, including P.S. Bartlett, D.G. Currier, Otis Hoyt, Charles H. Mason and others. The idea of beginning a large watch company for the mid-West was discussed by J.C. Adams, Bartlett and Blake. After a trip to Waltham, Massachusetts, Adams went back to Chicago and approached Benjamin Wright Raymond, a former mayor of Chicago, to put up the necessary capital to get the company started. Adams and Raymond succeeded in getting others to pledge their financial support also.
The National Watch Co, better known as the Elgin Watch Company, was formed in August 1864. The factory site was in Elgin, Illinois, where the city had donated 35 acres (142,000 m²) of land. The factory was completed in 1866 and the first movement was a B.W. Raymond, 18 size, full plate design. The company closed in 1964, after having produced half of the total number of pocket watches manufactured in U.S.A. (dollar-type not included). The Elgin Watch Company sold watches under the names, Elgin and Lord Elgin. The company produced the only self-winding (automatic) wristwatch movements ever 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).
The rights to the name "Elgin" were sold to MZ Berger, but Elgin-branded watches produced after 1964 have no other connection to Elgin or the Elgin Watch Company.
[edit] Trivia
NBA Hall of Famer Elgin Baylor was named after the Elgin National Watch Company.[1]
[edit] Source
- Complete Watch Guide, by Cooksey Shugart, Tom Engle, Richard E. Gilbert, Edition 1998, ISBN 1-57432-064-5
[edit] External links
 |
This article about a United States corporation or company is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it |
